


Illusions of the Sun

by Alaena_F_Dragonstar



Series: The Magician and the Oracle [1]
Category: Magic Kaito, 名探偵コナン | Detective Conan | Case Closed
Genre: Alternate Universe, Alternate Universe - Magic, Alternate Universe - Supernatural Elements, Family, Friendship, High School, Hurt/Comfort, M/M, Overprotective Kaito, Romance, Starting Over
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-08-31
Updated: 2020-10-02
Packaged: 2021-03-07 00:55:29
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 13
Words: 36,308
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26208280
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Alaena_F_Dragonstar/pseuds/Alaena_F_Dragonstar
Summary: They lost everything ten years ago—family, friends, freedom—all because of what they were, but Fate has given them a second chance. All they need now is the strength to grasp it and make the dream reality. KaitoxShinichi
Relationships: Kudou Shinichi | Edogawa Conan/Kuroba Kaito | Kaitou Kid
Series: The Magician and the Oracle [1]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1903357
Comments: 13
Kudos: 166





	1. Prologue

**Author's Note:**

> I am cross-posting some of my stories from FF.Net. The complete story and the sequels are already up [here](https://www.fanfiction.net/s/7602783/1/Illusions-of-the-Sun).

"Shinichi! Shinichi!"

Blue eyes blinked in surprise as a small, dark haired boy looked up from his book to see another boy racing across the playground towards him. It was this person who was shouting his name, sounding ecstatic to the point of exploding. The effect was enhanced by the even more unkempt state of the boy's already wild hair and the grin that looked like it was about to split his face in two.

"Guess what?" he exclaimed the moment he'd skidded to a stop in front of Shinichi. "Watch this!" he continued without waiting for an answer. Instruction delivered, he straightened, stepped to the side—and vanished.

Shinichi blinked once, twice, then three times before he relented and rubbed his eyes, but the other boy was literally gone. There were his footprints in the soft ground right where he had been standing, but they just ended where he'd stopped. There were no signs that he had run off in a different direction and the prints weren't any deeper which might have indicated extra effort put into a jump, but he was nowhere to be seen.

"Kaito?" he called out a bit hesitantly, shutting his book and standing up. "Kaito? Where—" He was cut off as someone tapped on his shoulder. He jumped and spun around so fast he nearly fell. "Kaito!"

The other boy was grinning, if possible, even wider than he had been before. "Yep! So what do you think? Isn't it awesome?"

"What did you do?" Shinichi demanded a bit nonplused.

His friend only laughed. "Dad called it teleporting. I can't go very far yet, but Dad said if I keep practicing I'll be able to cross whole streets and stuff easy! Oh, I figured out how to change the colors of the lights too. Here, I'll show you!"

Caught up in his excitement, Kaito raised his hand to do just that, but the smaller boy reached out hurriedly and slapped his hand down.

"Don't!" he hissed, casting a quick glance around the playground. Finding it empty, he let out a sigh of relief. "You're not supposed to do that sort of thing where people can see. Remember?"

Kaito rolled his eyes but nodded anyway. "Let's go to your house then. Come on!" Grabbing his friend by the hand he proceeded to drag him bodily out of the playground and down the street. Shinichi hurried to keep up and avoid tripping, his neglected book flapping from his other hand.

A few minutes later they were running up the driveway to his house. Kaito paused for a moment at the sight of a familiar car before setting off again with twice the vigor, eliciting a yelp of protest from his panting companion.

"S—slow down!"

"But my mom and dad are here already," Kaito said enthusiastically, not slowing down at all. "Mom promised they'd bring ice cream!"

"They won't let you eat it until after dinner anyway," Shinichi pointed out to no avail.

"Doesn't mean I can't ask," the other countered, barging right through the front door like it hadn't been locked and earning himself another hissed warning from his friend about displaying his powers. He pointed out that for all anyone knew the door had always been unlocked, to which Shinichi heaved a longsuffering sigh and yanked his hand free of Kaito's grasp so that he could examine his book for any damage their rushed journey might have caused. Kaito himself disappeared in the direction of the kitchen only to return five minutes later with a disgruntled expression.

"Not until after dinner, right?"

"It's not fair! I mean, what difference does it make if I eat the ice cream before or after dinner? It's all the same once it goes down, right?"

"I…guess you could put it that way," his friend consented. "But it's still not good to eat dessert first. You might eat so much dessert that you can't eat the meal and that would be bad for you."

"Oh well, did you want to see the lights? Come on, I'll show you!" Enthusiasm resurging as he remembered the original reason he'd wanted to get indoors so quickly, Kaito grabbed his friend's hand again and raced through the house towards Shinichi's room. Skidding through the door, he pushed Shinichi onto one of the two beanbags in the room then stepped back and snapped his fingers. Instantly a shower of what looked like sparks flew from his hand in a shower of sparkling lights. They started out white, then turned yellow then red then green then blue, changing each time he snapped his fingers. The lights hung in the air once summoned and by the end of the display there was a veritable cloud of multicolored lights in the room. It was like standing amidst a haze of tiny stars.

"Wow, that's really cool," Shinichi breathed, staring wide-eyed at all the dancing lights. Kaito beamed, sweeping into a deep bow like he'd seen his father do on stage before throwing himself onto the second beanbag. The lights remained hanging in the air—their own, private galaxy.

"What about you?" he asked eagerly. "Have you seen anything lately?"

The wonder on Shinichi's face immediately morphed into a deep frown. "Not exactly…but…I've had this really awful feeling all day…"

Kaito frowned, watching his friend's face scrunch up with worry. He wanted to say something to comfort the other but he wasn't sure what to say. Shinichi's bad feelings were usually fairly accurate. It was probably just part of being an oracle, but it certainly made it hard to figure out what to say. After all, it probably wasn't nothing.

"Did you talk to your mom about it?" he asked instead.

The smaller boy made a disgruntled face. "Yeah, but she just told me not to worry about it until I have more to work with."

"I'd say that's a pretty good suggestion. You can't solve a problem before it exists."

"It's called prevention."

Kaito snorted then bounded up off the beanbag. "Then there's only one thing to do! Let's play a game."

Shinichi blinked up at him in mild confusion. "What does that have to do with anything?"

"Simple. You need to get your mind off of something you can't do anything about. Come on, it'll be fun."

He shook his head at his friend's illogical logic but he didn't protest as he was pulled up out of the comfortable clutches of his beanbag. A distraction probably wouldn't hurt. Kaito excelled at distracting people.

Time always flew by when they were having fun. Night had fallen by the time the two children found themselves in the Kudo library where they were 'treasure hunting'. Kaito had just scaled a bookshelf-mountain and was describing the 'valley' below when they heard a crash from downstairs. Both boys paused where they were, their heads turning towards the library door.

"Did you hear that?" Kaito asked, jumping down from his perch to land in a crouch on Shinichi's father's writing desk. Usually the other boy would have frowned on this desecration of his father's sacred work place, but instead he stood frozen, a sudden, involuntary shiver racing down his spine. "Shinichi?"

"There's something wrong," he said, his voice strained. "I can't—"

He was cut off as another crash sounded accompanied by what had to be muffled shouts. The interruption seemed to cut through whatever tension had been holding them still and both boys bolted for the library door. Dashing down the hall outside, they were almost to the top of the stairs when Kaito's mother appeared from below. Her eyes were wide in a pale face as she zeroed in on them. A moment later she had crossed the hall and had grabbed each boy by a hand and was running back the way the boys had come.

"What—" Kaito started to ask but his mother shot him a terrified look that shoved the words back down his throat. What was going on here?

Kuroba Chikage threw open the door to Shinichi's parents' room. Dragging the boys towards the balcony doors, she finally let go of their hands and scrambled to open them. Cold wind blasted in the moment the doors were open, carrying with it the scent of something burning. Somewhere below and far too close there were several sharp explosions that rent the air into tiny pieces.

Shinichi stumbled, letting out a half strangled sound as he tried to run back into the house, blue eyes wide with something only he could see, but Chikage caught the boy before he could take more than a step or two and hauled him back onto the balcony.

"Go!" she insisted, carrying him to the railing and all but tossing him into the branches of the tree that stood just beyond the balcony.

"Mom! Were those gunshots?" Kaito demanded, his own eyes wide. Was he dreaming? But the night air was biting with cold and those sounds—they had sounded so real. "Where—"

"Not now, Kaito," his mother cut him off, scooping him up and throwing him into the tree after Shinichi before she climbed over the railing herself.

Confused but sensing the urgency in the air, the wild-haired boy scrambled quickly down the tree to the spot where Shinichi was just getting up, having half climbed half fallen out of the branches earlier.

"Are you all right?" he asked, giving his friend a steadying hand and checking him over quickly for any signs of injury. The smaller child had a few cuts and scrapes from the rough bark and twigs of the tree but otherwise didn't seem hurt. But he was shivering violently and the look in his eyes—Kaito had never seen a look like that on his friend's face before. It seemed to be a mixture of terror, horror, anguish, and loss.

Kaito opened his mouth to ask his friend what he was seeing, or at least try to snap him out of whatever trance he had fallen into, but before he could utter so much as a word his mother was there again, demanding that they run. Together the three of them crashed through the Kudo Manor's back gate.

That was when someone grabbed Kuroba Chikage from behind, pinning her arms to her sides and covering her mouth as yet more shadowy figures poured out of the night to gather around the escaping trio.

"Mom!" Kaito shouted, making a lunge for the man who had caught her. "Let her go!"

His mother's eyes widened in horror and she struggled to free her mouth. "Kaito! Both of you—run!"

"But—"

There was a sharp cry and he spun around, his blood running cold. Shinichi was lying sprawled on the ground, a trickle of blood seeping from beneath his bangs and another of the masked men standing over him.

Kaito didn't know what to do. And in that split second of indecision it was already too late.


	2. Blue, Blue Sky

He always remembered that look of pure, unbridled terror. Those were the only moments when he found he could see any member of the Wraith as human. Sometimes, those moments made him wonder what that made him. To them, he was the shadow that slipped undetected past all of their defenses and left with their lives.

This man was no different. Having taken what he shouldn't have from the Wraith, he had been slated for execution by his superiors. What exactly it was he had taken, Kaito hadn't been told, but he didn't particularly care. This was just another black-hearted fool being punished by his similarly amoral brethren.

He had to believe that. He didn't know what he'd do if he didn't.

Making his way to the apartment building's flat roof, he stepped lightly off the edge and unfolded the glider he'd been provided. In moments he had left the building and the dead man inside it behind, silent as a shadow, leaving no trace that he had ever been there at all.

Turning his thoughts to the wind, he commanded it to take him higher. The wind always obeyed him. It was just a shame that the rest of his life didn't do the same.

Letting out a breath that was almost a sigh, he turned his glider back towards Wraith headquarters. The last thing he wanted was to be back in that oppressive place, but at the same time the only people he wanted to see were there. Fate seemed to like doing that to him these days.

Like where he was now. He'd become the proverbial ghost story they used to scare their members into being good little villains. It was almost funny in a demented kind of way. He'd become their executioner. The ghost that no one saw but which the underlings had been taught to fear. What would they think, he wondered, if they found out that he was himself a prisoner? That the only reason he dealt with their internal purging rather than the Wraith's outside enemies was because, though he hated bloodshed, he had learned to tolerate it when it came to these evil bastards. He didn't think he could take any life of other kinds, and there was a boy called Shinichi who had been his closest friend since toddlerhood who would rather die than see him have to do such a thing. And Shinichi would know too.

Shinichi always knew.

That was their greatest leverage really. It was the reason why their captors couldn't really harm him or his mother. Not that they could do much to him anyway, he thought a bit bitterly. His powers protected him if no one else. But his mother was a different story.

He worried about her the most. Every time he saw her he was shocked by how pale and gaunt she had become—how frail she looked and how painfully fragile the smile she wore whenever she saw him. There were a thousand apologies in her eyes and all he wanted was to tell her that she had nothing to apologize for. But there was no way he could make her understand that.

When he allowed himself to dwell on it all, the whole situation just made him feel sick. Their precarious position hinged on his only friend's willingness to throw away his life and their captors desire for access to said friend's visions. His own hands were stained with blood because he knew there were too many ways they could hurt Shinichi that didn't involve killing and he wouldn't—couldn't—let that happen. And to top off the iceberg his mother's safety tied both their hands because she was the one who had no power at all. They were the only ones who could protect her.

Every one of them would give up everything if it meant the others could leave this hell behind, but for that very reason none of them could do anything.

It was a delicate balance that he watched like a hawk every moment of every day.

There was a twisted kind of humor in it too though, he supposed, because he knew that if anything ever happened to either Shinichi or his mother he wouldn't be able to control himself—wasn't sure he'd want to try if it ever came down to that. And their captors were afraid of him, even if they would never admit it. He could see it lurking behind their eyes and he took a certain degree of satisfaction from that knowledge. They hadn't expected when they'd come after two little children rumored to have strange powers that he would become so powerful. His father had always told him he was gifted.

And so they watched him with wary eyes because they knew—and rightly so—that the moment the opportunity presented itself he would take his mother and Shinichi and go. It didn't matter how small the opening was. If he saw it, he would find a way to force it open wide enough for them all to leave. Before then he would be their tool, but the kind with two edges on opposing sides.

The island rose dark on the horizon and he let the wind take him down to it. Gliding silently past the watchtowers, he landed in the open courtyard in the center of the complex. The guards eyed him suspiciously as he made his way inside, but none of them said a word.

None of them ever spoke to him unless ordered to deliver a message. Most of the time they avoided him to the best of their abilities. But as he didn't want to talk to any of them that suited him just fine. All he wanted now was to get back to the little suite tucked away inside the complex which was the only place he could be even remotely himself anymore. It was the one place where they weren't watching (not that they hadn't tried, but they'd eventually gotten tired of replacing the cameras he wrecked). Funny, how there could be a sanctuary of any kind in a nest of vipers.

The suite was dark and quiet when he entered. After a detour to the bathroom in a futile attempt to wash away the last few hours, he padded to the bedroom and slipped inside. Bypassing his empty bed, he crossed the room to where he knew Shinichi was. Shinichi would be awake. He never slept before Kaito returned.

Reaching out, he laid a hand on a blanketed shoulder which stirred.

Blue eyes that almost seemed to glow faintly in the dark looked up questioningly. "Kaito?"

The worry in the inquiry was clear but Kaito only shook his head. He didn't feel like speaking at the moment. Shinichi understood though, even without the words, and he scooted over to make room. Kaito crawled under the covers and pulled the other into a tight embrace.

He tightened his grip, tucking the smaller boy's head under his chin and holding him as close as he could as though to let go would be to lose everything. In a way, he supposed it was. It was only those moments when he had Shinichi safely in his arms, alive and breathing, that he knew why he carried out the tasks they gave him. Why he was staining his hands at the behest of people he hated with a burning passion that only grew stronger by the day. And he needed to know that he was doing this for a reason, because if he ever lost sight of that then he knew he would go mad.

This was what he was protecting.

X

Kaito woke to the sound of quiet, pained whimpers coming from Shinichi. The oracle had curled in on himself, his eyes squeezed shut and his face scrunched up as he shivered.

Sitting up quickly, Kaito took his companion by the shoulders and shook him. "Shinichi," he called. "Shinichi, open your eyes."

For a moment there was no response and he was beginning to wonder if this was one of the deeper visions when blue eyes blinked open to stare blindly up at him. That was a good sign at least, he noted. It meant Shinichi could still hear him.

He gathered the shaking boy into his arms and continued to repeat his name. It was a call and a reminder. Eventually the shaking subsided and Shinichi's eyes cleared, coming back from whatever distant place they had been looking into to focus on Kaito.

"T—today, it's breaking," he murmured as the last of the fit passed. "They're coming…"

"What?" Kaito frowned slightly in confusion. "What's coming?"

Shinichi let out a long breath that was half relief and half weariness. "It's… I'm not sure. Something big. It was…like the world was breaking apart."

"That doesn't sound good."

"But…it felt…" Trailing off, the oracle frowned. "It wasn't frightening, not really—but, at the same time, it was."

Kaito let out his own sigh. "For once it might be nice if you got straight answers instead of visions."

"I don't think so," the oracle murmured, looking away. "At least they have to spend time trying to figure out what it means." And it wouldn't be his fault if they didn't get it in time.

"Let's talk about something else," Kaito declared. "Are you hungry?"

"A little."

A glance at the clock revealed that it was ten after seven in the morning. "Well then, I'll go get us some breakfast. How about it?"

Shinichi nodded a bit reluctantly and sat on the edge of the bed while Kaito rummaged through the closet. He didn't particularly care what he wore and it had become habit over the years just to let Kaito pick for him. Kaito seemed to derive a certain amount of pleasure in being able to do things for them. It didn't really matter how small. Shinichi suspected that it was probably because it allowed his friend to feel he had at least some control over their situation. It had to be frustrating to have so much power at his fingertips and yet be unable to really remedy their situation.

For his part Shinichi knew that things weren't going to be like this forever. The future wasn't set in stone, but there were some things that, once other factors were set in motion, could just as well be considered fated. He knew for instance that the magician would leave this place one day, it was only a matter of how. He'd told Kaito that once, years ago, but for some reason his friend hadn't wanted to hear it.

"I'mnotgoinganywhereunlessyouandMomcomewithme," he'd insisted. When Shinichi reminded him that it might not be their choice to make he'd been studiously ignored. It worried Shinichi sometimes to think about it.

"I'll be back in a few minutes," Kaito said as they made their way to the door that opened out onto the hall. Both their eyes went to the cold, metallic band around Shinichi's left wrist. Utterly unremarkable in appearance, its smooth surface was marked only by a stylized eye with a star shaped pupil. Letting out a sigh, Shinichi watched Kaito head out into the hall, careful to keep himself on the suite side of the threshold. To go further would be to trigger the alarms which in turn would cause both the band he carried and the one being worn by Kuroba Chikage, wherever she was, to detonate.

When he couldn't see Kaito any longer he shut the door and retreated back into the suite's small living room where he slumped down in a chair by the table. He closed his eyes and did his best to focus on the darkness behind his eyelids and the feel of hard wood beneath him.

He could feel the visions hovering just on the edge of his consciousness, but though he needed them he needed time to just be here and himself more. Especially after that morning.

The visions didn't used to hurt. There had been a time when he'd almost looked forward to having them. They were riddles for him to solve—a game almost that he could play with himself. Some of them were frightening, but there were good ones too. Bright visions foretelling good things to come.

But he never saw those anymore.

Nowadays there were always too many of them. Too many images coming too quickly, every one too sharp as they grasped at him—drowning him, trying to sweep him away into their world and trap him there. It was like being suffocated—burned alive and buried in jagged pieces of glass, each image vying to embed itself in his mind and tear away his last connection to reality. It was agony, yet afterward he could never tell if the pain had been physical or all in his mind.

But he didn't care, because the fact that he could question that at all meant that he was still himself. That he had escaped the visions. This time. Next time he might not be so lucky.

He dreaded that next time every moment he was aware. The thought that one day he might be lost completely…that one day the visions would win and he would lose himself completely to their clawing grasp… It terrified him.

X

They were almost done with breakfast when the alarm went off. The sirens howled through the complex and both teens looked up. The walls of their room were too thick for them to hear anything else.

"It's an intruder alarm," Shinichi said after a moment's pause, blue eyes slightly unfocused. The one good thing that had come of the forced development of his powers, he mused, was that (with some concentration) he could actively call upon it in regards to matters of the present and—though to a lesser degree—the past. His mother had never been able to do that. It wasn't always clear and was often more a feeling than anything else, but it was generally enough. "A lot of them."

Their eyes met as they both sat still. Tension hung thick in the air mixed with something else. Kaito wasn't ready to call it hope, but, well, hadn't Shinichi said just that morning that something would change today? He opened his mouth to ask if the oracle knew anything else, but before he could speak the ground heaved violently, tipping them both out of their chairs. An earthquake? They weren't uncommon on the island, though never before had there been one quite this violent.

The dining table slid across the floor, bearing the remains of their breakfast with it, only to crash into the wall. Plates and cups skidded over the table's edge to smash upon the floor. Then the table was coming back at them preceded by their fallen chairs. They both scrambed out of the way just in time.

In the distance something that sounded like thunder roared and the walls shook. The lights overhead blinked once, twice, then went out.

"Something must have happened to the generators." Kaito scrambled to his feet and helped Shinichi up, keeping a hold of him to balance them both. He froze abruptly, his grip tightening almost painfully on Shinichi's arm as his thoughts raced. If the power was out, then all the machinery that ran on it would be too. They had never been stupid enough to let him know where the generator was, but he did know there was only one. And if there really were intruders running around the complex right now then the Wraith agents would be occupied. Frankly, it was the ideal combination—the proverbial key and distraction.

Turning quickly, he bolted for the door, dragging Shinichi with him.

"What are you doing?" the oracle exclaimed, stumbling to keep up.

"We're leaving," the magician said shortly, a strange mixture of suppressed excitement and urgency clear in his voice. "The power's out. The sensors will be down."

"But the backup system might still be intact. It could come on any second!" Shinichi protested, trying in vain to wrench his arm out of Kaito's grasp.

"We have to take the chance," the other argued, yanking open the door. "For all we know this place could be on the verge of collapse anyway." As if to illustrate his point, the hallway outside was bright with firelight and thick with the smell of smoke.

As they crossed the threshold Shinichi made another attempt to put some distance between them. If the computers were still working then the armband would still detonate and the last thing he wanted was for both of them to be caught in the blast. Especially when he knew that Kaito could get away. But instead of moving away his companion stepped closer, putting both arms around his waist as they passed the sensors.

Shinichi wanted to yell at him for being so stupid, but his breath had caught in his throat and all he could do was stare transfixed at the metal band around his wrist—waiting.

Nothing happened.

They were in the hall now, a wall of fire roaring off to their left and smoke turning the air gray. Neither of them moved for an instant though, surprise and relief gluing their feet to the floor, but there was no time for celebration. Not yet. Letting go of Shinichi, Kaito took his hand instead and started running down the as yet unlit side of the hall, keeping a wary eye out for anyone who might try to stop them.

"Which way?" he asked as they approached an intersection.

Snapping out of the turmoil of his own thoughts, Shinichi knew immediately what he meant. "Left, straight, two rights, and a left."

Kaito turned left without hesitation and they were pelting down yet more halls, the flames nipping at their heels. Another tremor rocked the earth and they nearly fell around the last corner. And there she was, thin and terrified but alive, being supported by a young woman with blond hair that fell to her shoulders.

Kaito's eyes narrowed at the sight of the younger woman. "Let her go," he demanded, raising the hand that wasn't hanging onto Shinichi and forming a bright ball of pure power that crackled and pulsed dangerously.

But to his surprise his mother raised her eyes to his and shook her head, a weak smile forming on her lips. "Shiho saved me before my room collapsed, Kaito," she rasped before going into a fit of coughs.

The girl shifted to take more of the older woman's weight on her own shoulder before fixing the boys with a steady, unreadable stare. "Follow me." Not waiting for an answer, she turned and started walking, her pace quick but steady.

Kaito hesitated a moment but Shinichi gave his hand a gentle squeeze. "It's all right."

X

The blonde led them to one of the many caverns beneath the island where the Wraith docked their ships. Most of the ships had either been crushed by falling rocks or taken away by fleeing Wraith members, but they managed to find a small boat that had been overlooked. Fifteen minutes later they were out on the open sea, the island a disappearing hulk in the distance dotted with the bright flashes of the occasional explosion and wreathed in rising smoke.

Once they were out of sight of the place, Kaito withdrew his attention from the currents and the boat slowed, drifting now only with the power of the sea.

Turning, he focused instead on examining Shinichi and his mother for injuries. Once he was satisfied that neither of them had been severely injured, he placed a hand on each of the metal bands around their left wrists. He focused and they snapped open.

For a moment he stared down at the two thick rings of metal (he'd never seen them both at the same time before, their captors had been careful about that). They were cold and unyielding in his hands, but bereft of their wearers they were powerless. Nothing more than mere objects with no purpose left. Fingers closing over them abruptly, he turned and hurled them out to sea as far away from the boat as he could. In an instant the waves had swallowed them without a trace. It was the most satisfying thing he'd ever seen.

Shinichi watched the devices vanish with an odd sense of wonder. To think that something that had played such a huge role in their lives—that had trapped them more firmly than any iron bars or walls ever could—were in reality so small. And now that they were gone… Cool, sweet relief washed through him and he leaned back against the side of the boat, turning his eyes upward to the endless expanse of cloud softened blue overhead, letting the wonder well up inside him and fill every nerve in his body.

He hadn't seen the sky in ten years.


	3. A New Beginning

Yoshino waited for her students to stop buzzing. Not, she mused, that she could really blame them. It had been a while since they'd had new students at the school. Most of these people had grown up knowing each other. And now they had two new students at once—two rather strange new students at that.

Their facial features were similar enough for them to be brothers despite their family names being different, but where the taller one had an air of boundless energy and looked like he was about to go haring off somewhere the other had an aura of quiet calmness—almost of waiting. Altogether Yoshino felt it would probably be impossible to get the two confused. If anything the more she looked at them the less alike they seemed, but that wasn't really important right now. She had a class to teach after all.

Calling for the class to be quiet, she directed the new students to two empty seats by the window.

X

Sitting down in the desk closer to the window, Shinichi couldn't help but cast his gaze outside at the flawless blue of the sky. He couldn't seem to get enough of seeing it. There was, he had decided, nothing more beautiful than the open sky. A whole month of being able to look upon it every day hadn't changed his mind. He doubted anything ever would.

"I'm not here to hurt you. My name is Jodie. I'm with the FBI."

"You were the ones who attacked the island."

She looked slightly surprised at the tone of absolute certainty in his voice, but she'd nodded. "We are. And we would appreciate it if you could tell us what you were doing there."

The woman and her comrades had fished them out of their drifting boat. Once everything had been explained, they had offered to help them find a new home—set up a new life. It had sounded like a dream. It had sounded impossible.

And yet…and yet here they were, new students attending school for the first time in ten years. They had even been provided with a small but comfortable house within walking distance of said school. Kaito's mother had been placed in the city's hospital due to ill health resulting from long term stress, but the doctors had all assured them that she would be fine soon. As for Shiho, the girl who had helped them escape, she had volunteered to assist in cleaning up the rest of the Wraith case (it turned out she had been a member of the research team pressed into service because of debts owed by her deceased family) and would be settling in a new life of her own soon.

Sometimes, Shinichi still thought that he was dreaming.

"Exciting, isn't it?"

Tearing his gaze from the sky, he turned to see Kaito grinning at him. He couldn't help but smile at the way his companion practically seemed to be vibrating with glee. It had been a long time since he'd last seen Kaito so excited about anything. "Yeah. It seems…kind of surreal."

Indigo eyes grew serious, almost fierce. "It's how things should be."

How things should be… Shinichi turned the phrase over in his mind then nodded slowly. Yes, this was how things should be.

Class began as the teacher began to give the day's announcements. Shinichi listened to her talk, reveling in the feeling of just being there. Most of the rest of the class seemed to have fallen into various stages of stupor but he couldn't understand why. Perhaps it was because school had become so routine to them that they just couldn't see the wonder of it anymore.

Things were going well until halfway through their second period when the world around him seemed to flex unpleasantly. He stiffened, his hand tightening convulsively around his pen. The lines on the paper before him shimmered and began to writhe as the edges of his vision faded first to black then red then green. His thoughts raced with sudden panic. He couldn't go into a vision here! What would they tell their classmates?

He had lifted his pen away from the paper as the lines continued to wriggle and his hand started shaking too much to write with. His other hand slid into his lap where it clenched into a tight fist as though he could physically grasp the world and hold it still.

It didn't work. Maybe if he could get the teacher to let him go to the bathroom. Could he get to the bathroom? Collapsing in the hall didn't sound very appealing. Maybe—maybe—

A hand grasped his under the desk and squeezed. He focused on the sensation with all his might until the creeping colors on the edge of his vision finally receded and he let out a quiet breath of relief.

The bell signaling the end of class chose that moment to ring and he blinked in surprise, eyes flickering up to the clock. Half the class had gone by without him even noticing. Dismayed blue eyes fell to the notes he'd been taking which had similarly come to an end far before the class itself.

"No need to look so horrified," Kaito's voice murmured into his ear, sounding slightly amused but also a little worried. "You can look at mine." He paused, studying the oracle's face. "Are you all right? Do you want to go home?"

Shinichi shook his head quickly. "No, I'm fine now. It's just—I didn't think…" He sighed, shaking his head. "I was stupid. I forgot to consider… It's not like the visions are going to disappear just because we're not there anymore after all."

Kaito was silent for a moment. "Are you sure you don't want to go home?"

Shinichi glanced again at his half finished notes, frowned, then nodded, a determined gleam lighting in his eyes. "Yes, I'm sure. We've waited so long…I'm not going to hide away just because of this."

The magician smiled faintly before the expression shifted into a more customary grin. "We'll find a way," he declared with the assurance of someone who had not only decided but made a solemn vow.

Because it was the only choice they could make now—the only one either of them was willing to accept.

X

"Those two sure do seem to know each other well," Mouri Ran remarked, watching the two new students whispering to each other several rows in front of her.

"Yeah, a little too well if you ask me," her friend Suzuki Sonoko remarked. "It's like they don't notice anyone else. That's not normal."

"Just because you're naturally nosy doesn't mean other people have to be," the dark skinned boy seated behind her snorted.

Sonoko rolled her eyes. "Yeah, well, don't tell me you can't see how close they're sitting."

"I'm guessin' they just moved here together. Some long time family friends do that—move together, you know. Why do you care anyway? One of 'em strike your fancy or something? Man I feel sorry for Makoto."

Sonoko's jaw dropped as she seemed to swell with indignation. "I never—how dare you say such things to me?"

Sighing, Ran did her best to tune the two out. She didn't understand why she always seemed to be surrounded by people who liked to argue. If it wasn't Sonoko and her current verbal sparring partner Hattori Heiji, it would be Heiji and Hakuba Saguru—who was currently giving her a knowing look.

"There is something strange about those two," the blonde in question said quietly, shifting forward in his desk so that she could hear him over the bickering going on right beside them. "The one by the window seems…ill, to me."

"Ill?" Ran repeated, glancing back towards the boy in question. "He…seems okay to me." Though now that he mentioned it the guy did look a little pale.

Saguru shrugged. "I could be mistaken. Perhaps he is simply nervous about being at a new school."

Ran hummed a little in agreement, though she couldn't help but remember how neither of the boys had seemed nervous to her when they had introduced themselves to the class.

X

When lunch period rolled around Shinichi discovered to his chagrin that he had missed another fifteen minutes or so of class to another tussle with insistent visions. Frustrated and tired, he didn't argue when Kaito offered to go get them lunch. He just smiled in gratitude and watched Kaito leave before putting his head down on the desk with a sigh.

Relief was short lived however.

"Hey, so where did you guys move from?" a curious voice inquired from somewhere in front of his desk, making him jerk upright in surprise.

"Do you play any sports?" someone else asked.

"Are you going to join any clubs?"

"How are you liking it here so far?"

"Do you guys want someone to show you around?"

It seemed like everyone in class had a question and none of them was willing to be heard second. Shinichi could only sit in the midst of it all, not sure where to begin. He could feel his own heart rate picking up as they crowded around him, all talking at once in increasingly louder voices as each attempted to be the first one heard. Their voices were blending together into an indistinguishable roar and it was suddenly a bit difficult to breathe.

For ten whole years the only people he'd interacted with were Kaito and a handful of Wraith scientists who were anything but good company. Now he was being swarmed by total strangers. He knew they were only curious, but it was hard to remember that with the panic welling up inside him.

Kaito chose that moment to walk back into the classroom, two lunches in hand. He stopped short in the doorway, taking in the sight of the curious students and Shinichi wearing an expression that made him think of a cornered animal. He had seen that look before when the scientists were still trying to figure out how Shinichi's powers worked.

He forced down an irrational surge of anger, reminding himself that these were harmless high school students. They had nothing to do with the Wraith. The Wraith were gone. They were just curious. They weren't trying to hurt Shinichi, even if their thoughtless crowding was obviously unnerving the oracle.

Taking another moment to study the situation, he checked that he had the supplies he'd spent the last couple days before they started school finding, and made his move.

Several people in the room shrieked and yelled as a small series of explosions cracked the air around the room. Students scattered, confused eyes jerking ceiling-ward to stare in shock at the myriad of little, colored paper stars now raining down all over the room. Their surprise turned to wonder as the colored stars swirled together and melted into a single, billowing cloth that shimmered through all the colors of the rainbow. Kaito caught a corner of the cloth and jerked on it, making it ripple towards him whereupon it vanished as though it had never been.

Now that everyone was watching him, he grinned and swept into a deep bow, pulling a white hat out of nowhere as he did so. Straightening, he placed the hat on his head to the sound of applause. He could feel the grin growing impossibly as he basked in the attention. He'd spent so long being a shadow that he'd forgotten what this was like. It brought back memories of his father that he hadn't allowed himself to dwell on in years. He would, he decided, definitely have to do this more often.

X

"We're going to the hospital to visit your mother, right?" Shinichi asked as he and Kaito left the school.

"Yep. Did you want to swing by home first or just head there from here?"

"Why don't we go straight there? I brought a map so we wouldn't have to detour just to find our way."

Kaito laughed. "All right then. Wouldn't want your efforts to go to waste, would we?"

The oracle rolled his eyes but refrained from commenting as he produced the aforementioned map.

The two boys made their way along the street. All around them people talked, laughed, and argued, each in his or her own world yet somehow all one world at the same time. It was a little strange for them both to think that now they were part of that world too, but it was a good kind of strange.

Kaito paused by the window of a small bookstore that stood between a flower shop and a crafts supply store, gaze resting on the books currently being showcased behind the massive display window. A memory flashed across the canvas of his mind—shelves full of books in a library long ago and the excited light in bright, blue eyes as he was presented with what Shinichi had claimed were the best books ever written.

He glanced quickly after Shinichi, who was still examining the map in his hands and hadn't noticed yet that his companion had stopped. Making up his mind, he jogged to catch up and tapped the oracle on the shoulder.

Shinichi jumped and glanced up. "Just give me a moment, I think I've almost got it. We just have to turn left at the—"

"Actually could you go ahead without me?" Kaito interjected. "There's something I need to do first."

Shinichi frowned slightly in confusion but nodded. "I guess so… But you are coming right? I mean, we haven't seen her for days."

"I'll be there," Kaito assured him hastily. "I just wanted to get her something."

"Oh." Blue eyes lit with understanding. "Well, do you want the map then? I could just, you know." He waved a hand vaguely, glancing around to see if anyone was watching them.

Kaito shook his head. "I'll just ask for directions. I don't think you should be using that when you don't have to. Maybe things will get better if you give it enough time."

"Well, if you're sure," the oracle replied a bit doubtfully.

"I'm sure. Now go on, I don't want Mom to think we forgot or anything."

"She wouldn't," Shinichi replied, but he turned anyway and continued down the street, unfolding the map again.

X

Kuroba Chikage smiled as the door to her hospital room opened and Shinichi peeked inside to make sure she wasn't sleeping before coming all the way in. Seeing him reminded her of two of the best friends she'd ever had who she'd never see again, but at the same time she was oh so grateful that she still had both him and her son. They were all that was left of her world—of the man she had loved and the friends she would miss for the rest of her life. How she wished that things could have been different, but at least the three of them were here now and she was going to do everything in her power to make sure that they could live life as they should have been able to long ago.

"Kaito said he had an errand to run but he'll be here as soon as he can," Shinichi explained as he took a seat beside her bed. "How are you feeling?"

"Very well, thank you," she replied, smiling softly at him. "How was your first day of school?"

"It was—kind of strange," he admitted a bit sheepishly. "There's…a lot of people. But it was interesting. They gave us a lot of extra homework though since we're starting late."

"That's only to be expected. Are you two finding your way around okay?"

Shinichi nodded, beginning to describe their day (though he left out the bit about the visions. Making her worry was the last thing he wanted to do now especially when it was prolonged stress that had put her in the hospital to begin with). He was telling her all about the strange food Kaito had brought back from the cafeteria when the magician in question came waltzing into the room and presented his mother with a colorful bouquet and a hug. The rest of the evening was spent simply enjoying each other's company until Chikage insisted that the boys head home before dark.

"That homework isn't going to do itself," she reminded them, earning a melodramatic groan from Kaito.

X

"Did the doctors tell you when she'd be discharged?" Shinichi asked as Kaito unlocked the door to the house that was now their home (what a beautiful word, home).

"I was told it'd be in about another two weeks," Kaito replied, performing a quick check of the house as he did every time they got home. You couldn't be too careful after all. "There's takeout on the kitchen counter," he called back as he made his way upstairs to look through the second floor rooms. "Might have to heat it up."

"All right." Stepping into the kitchen, Shinichi grabbed the boxes off the counter and sorted them into various microwavable containers before putting the first in to heat. That done, he took two plates and some silverware to the table where he paused. There was a large package sitting on the table that hadn't been there that morning. Kaito must have brought it back when he bought dinner.

Curious, he put the plates down and went to examine the package. It was rather heavy and well wrapped in plain paper. It didn't make any sound when shaken either.

"You can open it you know," Kaito remarked from the kitchen doorway, sounding far too amused.

"What is it?"

"I'm not telling~."

Rolling his eyes, Shinichi set about unwrapping the package with careful fingers. As the paper fell away he found himself looking down at a rather compact set of books.

He blinked down at them, his breath hitching in his throat. "Is that…?"

"The complete collection," Kaito asserted with a broadening grin. "Saw it on sale at the bookstore earlier."

And as he watched Shinichi's face light up with mixed wonder and sheer delight he couldn't help but laugh. It was a laugh that bubbled up from somewhere deep inside—bright and real and full of awe because for the first time in a long time he found that he could really feel the warmth of the sun again.


	4. Field Trips and Friendships

When the bus first pulled up in front of the waiting students, Shinichi wasn't too sure if he wanted to get inside it. The idea of packing their entire class inside the one vehicle didn't strike his fancy at all. But by that point it was too late to back out of the field trip and he knew Kaito was really excited about the whole thing. So he squared his shoulders and allowed himself to be swept up into the bus with the rest of the chattering crowd.

He was jostled back and forth by the press of students until he squeezed between two girls and managed to snag a seat by the window. Moments later Kaito joined him, straightening out his school uniform before taking his seat.

"Everyone sure is excited," he remarked, watching the rest of the class scramble into all available seats.

Shinichi nodded. "They did say it just opened. And apparently everyone who's gone says it was really interesting."

"Let's hope it's all they say it is then."

"I still don't see what could possibly be interesting about a tech museum," the girl across the aisle from Kaito complained. "I mean, it's just a museum! How interesting could it possibly get?"

"With that attitude, not very," the blond boy sitting in the row in front of them snorted.

"I actually think this should be fun," the brunette sitting beside the blonde said in a placating manner when the first girl's mouth began to open again. "Just give it a chance Sonoko. I heard they've set up a lot of interactive exhibits so it's not like your average museum where you only look at things."

"Oh, well, I guess that would be better," the girl called Sonoko relented. "You should learn from Ran, Blondie," she added. "She makes a much better argument than you. And you call yourself a detective."

The dark-skinned boy sitting across from 'Blondie' snickered loudly at that. "Man she's got you there Hakuba. You should know the best way to win an argument is to present good reasons."

"Says he who is the king of reason," Blondie—or rather Hakuba—replied dryly, the sarcasm in his voice thick enough to cut. "Remind me again, who was it who nearly trampled the evidence on that murder case last Saturday?"

Now it was the dark-skinned boy's turn to glare. "If I hadn't gotten there so fast there would've been two deaths instead of one," he snapped. "Or are you saying you don't care about that?"

The blond bristled. "I said no such thing. I was simply pointing out that a little caution would not have gone amiss. If you had indeed destroyed the evidence, accident or not, there would eventually have been more than two deaths on that man's hands."

"Can you two stop talking about that stuff so loudly?" the brunette hissed, punching the blonde lightly on the arm and glancing around the bus. "You're going to ruin everybody's day. We're going to have fun and learn something here. And you're going to give our new classmates the wrong idea about this city with all this talk about murders," she added, turning to give Kaito and Shinichi an apologetic smile. "Don't mind them," she advised. "Heiji and Saguru here both like to call themselves detectives so they tend to talk a lot about these things, but murders aren't half as common as you might think just listening to them. It's just they've been rivals since preschool so they like to compete over this and, well, yeah…it's like they can't talk about anything but dead people anymore."

"That is so not true!" the dark-skinned boy—Heiji, was it?—protested. "I talk about other things."

"That's all right," Kaito told the girl (he believed Sonoko had called her Ran). "We don't scare easy."

"That's good." The girl smiled. "By the way, I'm Mouri Ran. I hope you're both liking it here."

"Very much, thank you."

"It's a beautiful city," Shinichi agreed, smiling a bit hesitantly back at the girl. This was the first time he'd had a conversation with one of their new classmates that wasn't about school since the first few days when he'd spent most of his time finding ways to avoid being interrogated. He'd gotten a little more comfortable with people over the past few weeks, but it was a slow and grueling process and he was sure he'd never like crowds.

X

The students were unloaded in front of a rather impressive looking building with large, glass windows that glittered in the daylight. A waterwheel loomed to the right of the front doors, spinning in a stately slowness as it welcomed each new guest and bid the departing farewell. It was beside this wheel that their teacher stopped to give the gathered students their instructions. Each student would be responsible for writing a detailed report on at least two different exhibits—their thoughts about the exhibits, what they learned, what they might already have known, how well the information was presented through the exhibit in question, etc—to be turned in the following week.

"That said," Yoshino concluded, smiling at her class, "the whole point of today is to let you explore and give you an introduction to the wonders of the world's advancing technology. So make sure you take advantage of this opportunity and really look around. We'll meet back here at two and the bus will take us back to school."

With that the students filed into the museum, had their tickets checked by the attendants at the front desk, and dispersed.

The moment they were able Kaito grabbed Shinichi's hand and dragged him off to see the robots. There were cleaning robots and service robots and even little pet robots who purred or chirped or squeaked depending on what you did with them. Shinichi rather liked a three foot tall parrot robot that translated things that were said to it into different languages (though it had a tendency to mess up on syntax and occasionally popped up with words that had nothing at all to do with what had been said).

After that they found themselves in a room walled with computers at which various people sat, typing maniacally. A sign on the wall announced that each computer was running a different chatterbox. The goal of the test was to converse with the chatterbox and hopefully get it to reveal itself as being inhuman.

"Ha!" a triumphant cry rang out suddenly and Kaito and Shinichi both recognized Heiji's voice. "I did it in one and a half minutes! That's a minute faster than you did."

"You do realize that we were interacting with different programs," came the much quieter, desert dry response. "Any comparison made thus has no relevance whatsoever."

"Yeah but this one's supposed to be the best."

"Really? And where, pray tell, does it say that?"

"Right here in the museum guide book!"

A moment of silence filled with the rustle of paper followed.

"It says it is one of the most sophisticated programs. Note, the 'one of'."

"Oh for goodness sake…" Ran, who had been standing behind the two boys seated at the computers, let out an exasperated sigh. Neither of them seemed to hear her as they continued to argue over the comparative merits of their respective records when measured against the level of the chatterbox programs in question.

"You weren't kidding when you said they're always competing, were you?"

Ran started at the sound of Shinichi's voice and turned to find the two new students standing beside her with bemused expressions. She sighed then smiled. "Nope. Can't admit they're friends to save their lives but they're harmless. But if they keep this up we're not going to get around to seeing anything else," she added, scowling.

"You don't have to wait for them," Kaito pointed out, amusement dancing in dark indigo eyes.

"No," she agreed, "but if I don't keep bugging them they're going to spend the whole day here and they have to write about at least two exhibits."

"Then it is fortunate they have such a kind friend," the magician laughed. "Here, let me help you."

Reaching out quickly, he grabbed the back of each of the arguing boys' chairs and yanked. The rolling chairs zipped out from under their occupants so fast that for a split second it looked like the two were sitting on thin air. Then the room echoed with twin cries of shock as they fell rather painfully onto their rears. Shinichi covered his mouth with a hand to stop himself from laughing (it didn't seem right to laugh but oh the identical looks of confusion on their faces as they just sat there, unmoving and staring in wide-eyed incomprehension up at the computers that had been at eye level just moments ago). Ran however, probably spurred on by her earlier exasperation, had no such compunction. She gaped for only a second before bursting into a fit of giggles.

The two boys sitting on the ground snapped out of their daze at the sound and glanced around to find their audience of three. Only by now Kaito had already disposed of the incriminating chairs by sliding them under other computer desks, so what the two saw was one laughing girl, one boy with a hand over his mouth, and one smirking boy with inquiringly raised eyebrows.

"Are you two just going to sit there or did you want to actually visit some other exhibits?" the last asked as though merely curious about their intended schedules and not at all about their seating. This earned him two suspicious looks which only made his grin widen.

"Come on you two," Ran said, having calmed down somewhat. "We really should get going. You can come back here later if you really want to."

"Nah, let's try something else," Heiji replied, getting to his feet and straightening out his clothes. "No reason to come back when I've already won. I don't need Hakuba here to admit it to know I'm right."

"That would be because you have perfected your ability of self delusion," the blonde scoffed, but he too showed no desire to continue hanging out in the chatterbox room.

"So would you two like to come with us?" Ran asked, turning back to Kaito and Shinichi.

The two traded looks before Kaito answered. "Where were you headed?"

"I was thinking the Room of Lights."

"That sounds interesting." Shinichi looked to Kaito who nodded and slung an arm over his shoulders.

"Sure, why not?"

X

The Room of Lights was pitch black with faintly luminous lines on the floor to guide visitors through its murky depths. The room itself had eight different stations, each a bizarre collection of maneuverable lenses, mirrors, prisms, and wires. At some stations small flames burned bright in the darkness, at others a thin artificial fog made the paths of laser lights visible to the human eye. Visitors could arrange the lights as well as the surrounding tools in order to explore how they affected the way light traveled.

They also found Sonoko setting up mirrors in an attempt to make the lasers spell out her name.

Everyone was having fun seeing what they could make the lights do until someone let out a high pitched shriek of shock accompanied by a hwumph as a burst of fire at one station temporarily lit the entire room. Several attendants immediately made a beeline for the station in question.

Standing at one of the laser stations, Heiji shook his head. "Man it's like being in an amusement park instead of a museum."

"An amusement park?" Shinichi asked, a bit confused. "Do people usually set things on fire and scream in amusement parks?"

"What? No! Or, well, maybe the screaming, but that's not what I meant. I was just thinking that all these exhibits are more like games so being here's more like being at an amusement park than being at a museum where you're just supposed to look at stuff." He paused as though struck by a sudden thought. "Haven't you ever been to an amusement park?"

"There weren't any where we're from," Kaito said smoothly.

"So you mean neither of you have ever been to an amusement park?" Sonoko demanded incredulously. "That's pathetic!"

"Sonoko, don't be so rude!" Ran exclaimed, face flushing with embarrassment at her friend's behavior. Turning, she smiled apologetically at the two boys in question. "Would you like to come with us to Tropical Land? We were planning to go there this weekend with some friends of ours. You're both welcome to join us."

"Tropical Land?" Shinichi repeated, puzzled.

"It's an amusement park," Hakuba explained. "We can take the bus there. It's fairly new but the papers have been giving it fairly decent reviews."

"So do you guys want to come?" Ran asked again.

Shinichi could see the expectation in their faces despite the darkness of the room but he found he wasn't sure what to say. Did he want to go? Part of him did, the other part shied from the thought, and the rest had no idea what to think. A warm hand closed over his before he could finish debating with himself and he glanced up to catch Kaito's eye. The magician smiled softly before turning his attention back to their classmates.

"We'd love to," he said cheerily like he dealt with these sorts of things every day. "As long as it's no trouble."

"Oh, no trouble at all," Ran assured them. "We're meeting at the park near school Saturday morning at eight."


	5. Looking Forward

"Shin-chan~, if you don't hurry we're going to be late," Kaito called up the stairs. He was answered by a thump and a muffled exclamation. Now rather curious, he made his way upstairs. Shinichi wasn't a morning person, but he'd actually been the one to wake Kaito up that day. He also didn't tend to think much about things like appearance and yet he was still rummaging through the closet when Kaito poked his head into the room.

"What are you doing?" the magician couldn't help but ask. "Surely it can't be that hard to figure out what to wear. It's not like we're going to some kind of formal party."

"It's not that," Shinichi said a bit distractedly. "I read somewhere that there are a lot of rides at these kinds of places where you get wet, so I was thinking maybe we should bring another set of clothes, but we don't seem to have any bags that would be good for that. Most of them are too big or too small. Do we have any sunscreen?"

"There's a bottle in the medicine cabinet," Kaito replied, stifling a laugh. "You know, in this weather any wet clothes will dry in no time. I don't think you have to bring spares. And if they don't I'm sure I could dry it for you."

Shinichi backed out of the closet to frown at him. "You promised you'd stick to power-free magic while we're in public."

"I know, I know, but really, no one would notice clothes drying a bit faster. Besides, you're the only one who'd be able to tell the difference between the real magic and the magic tricks."

"You don't know that for sure. What if someone does notice? What if—"

Stepping forward quickly, Kaito covered Shinichi's mouth with a hand before he could say more. "It's all right. I promise I'll be careful. But you have to promise me to stop worrying about this and try to have some fun. We have to start looking forward. I'd say we owe ourselves at least that much. So shall we get going?"

Shinichi blinked at him for a moment over the hand still covering his mouth then nodded.

"Good." Kaito grinned. "Now let's get going before they decide to leave without us."

Shinichi smiled at that. "I guess we can't have that."

X

They arrived in the park exactly at eight, earning a few teasing comments about lying in wait for the clock which, for some reason Shinichi couldn't fathom, led to an argument between Hattori and Hakuba over the merits of punctuality. It seemed to be something of a sore spot between the two. Then again, everything seemed to be a sore spot between the two. It was really quite bizarre. How could anyone have so much to argue about?

The two detectives aside, Ran introduced them to a rather energetic girl called Toyama Kazuha. Sonoko, she added, had backed out of the trip at the last moment because of a major sale going on at one of her favorite stores so it was just going to be the six of them.

"Only she'd think fighting over half-priced goods with a bunch of sale-happy, crazy shopaholics is more fun," Kazuha laughed.

"That's because she's the queen of all those crazy shopaholics," Heiji snickered. "But hey, it's her loss. I do feel sorry for Makoto though, he has to go and carry all her bags."

There was a collective wince.

"We should bring him something," Hakuba murmured.

The bus chose that moment to trundle up the street and the topic of Sonoko and her habits was discarded in favor of telling their new classmates all the things they just had to do when they got to the amusement park. Shinichi tried to listen—it all sounded so surreal—but ever since they'd gotten on the bus he'd been feeling…like there was something not quite right. It had something to do with someone on the bus, he was sure of that, but he couldn't quite put his finger on it.

And all the people everywhere was distracting.

"—ichi! Shinichi!"

Jerking back to the present, he looked up to find Kaito leaning over him, a slightly worried gleam in his eyes despite the grin plastered across his face. "Huh?"

"The driver's getting impatient," the magician replied, tilting his head to indicate the man at the front of the now empty bus who had his arms crossed over his chest and a deep scowl carved into his face. The tapping of a foot reached Shinichi's ears and he flushed in embarrassment, hurrying to scramble out of his seat.

"S—sorry," he stammered, offering the irate driver a quick bow before all but jumping down the steps of the bus, followed closely by a rather amused Kaito.

"What were you thinking about?" he asked as the bus doors slammed shut behind them.

"What? Oh, it's just…there're a lot more people here than I thought there'd be." Shinichi smiled a bit sheepishly, hoping Kaito wouldn't press the issue. That feeling was gone now, not that that meant too much. Still, it might be nothing, and if he brought it up now Kaito would insist they go home. Kaito may be all for not worrying, but Shinichi knew he still did it too, whether or not he wanted to admit it. It was in the way he always had one eye trained on the shadows and how he still couldn't sleep unless he had Shinichi tucked up against him where any attempt to dislodge the oracle would inevitably wake him (not that Shinichi was complaining, he couldn't sleep when Kaito wasn't there either, but it just went to show how much they hadn't been able to let go).

"Oi! What are you two waiting for?" Hattori's voice rang out across the parking lot. "If you don't hurry up we won't be able to get through all the rides!"

"We don't really have to go on all of them," they could hear Kazuha saying as they hurried to catch up to the group. "I'd say it'd be better if each of us picks the ones we want to go on most and we concentrate on those. With all the people here trying to get to all the rides is probably going to be impossible anyway."

"I agree," Ran said, handing each person a glossy pamphlet. "These have park maps in them. Just take a look and pick, uh, two or three things you absolutely don't want to miss."

"We should also decide which of the park restaurants we wish to have lunch at," Hakuba added. "That way we will be able to plan the most efficient route."

"Ugh, listening to you makes it sound like some kind of business operation," Hattori grumbled.

"That is not my problem."

"Yeah? Well, it isn't mine either."

"Then you need not have raised the subject."

"So what do you guys want to eat later?" Ran cut in hastily, shooting Kaito and Shinichi an apologetic look. "If no one has any particularly strong preferences, I've heard the Toucan Café is supposed to be good."

As they entered the park, Shinichi looked up to see a long, red vehicle stuffed with people hurtle along a looping track at breakneck speed. Most of the people were screaming. Some were waving their arms around as they yelled. It looked like an accident waiting to happen and for a moment he had that uneasy feeling again—though it could have just been a reaction to the sight of the unfamiliar contraption. He couldn't help but wonder if that was supposed to be fun. Then again he supposed whoever built these things must have known what they were doing and been sure to do everything they could to make sure it was safe.

X

The six high school students managed to ride the Jungle Train and visit the rock climbing plaza chosen by Ran and Hattori respectively much faster than they had anticipated so they stopped by two of the smaller coasters before heading for the carnival-themed section of the park where the Toucan Café was located. Kazuha had chosen the maze of mirrors as one of her 'must go' attractions so they picked up a number from the café before spending ten minutes wandering through its shimmering halls, making it out in record time.

"You sure you haven't been here before?" Hattori had asked Shinichi when they'd gotten outside. "Because you seemed to know exactly where you were going."

The oracle smiled a bit uneasily at that. "I'm just—good at reading the reflections, I guess."

"You must have one hell of an eye then."

"Uh…thanks…?"

With another thirty minutes to go before they could eat, the group made their way towards the carnival games which had been one of the places both Kaito and Shinichi had wanted to go to from the start. The most colorful area of the park, it was lined with dozens of little game stations. It had been decorated with extremely realistic tropical birds with their rainbow wings spread wide as though about to take flight. Shinichi couldn't tear his eyes away from a particularly large, red and gold bird whose tail trailed at least three feet in length. Its painted eyes glinted and for a moment he would have sworn it was alive.

"You know, if you like them that much, the ring game has miniatures for prizes," Kaito murmured, stepping up beside him and slipping an arm around his middle. "Or I could make you one. It doesn't look too hard and there's that crafts store by the school. I'm sure we could find what we'd need there."

Shinichi glanced at the booth in question and the row of multicolored birds that had been hung all over one of its walls. Designed to be hung up in windows or on roof awnings like wind chimes, their feathers glimmered as they spun slowly in the light breeze. "Can we try the game?"

Kaito grinned and started pulling him towards the booth. "Of course. Come on. Do you want a blue one, a red one, a purple one, or a white one? Or maybe one of each?"

Ran watched them go, wondering with some amusement if the two had forgotten about the rest of them. They did seem to have a tendency to slip into their own little world. She'd noticed how the two were almost always standing together, and more often than not Kaito seemed to either have his arm around Shinichi or be holding his hand. And Shinichi, whom she'd noticed shied from coming into close contact with people in general, didn't seem to mind at all. There was something very casual in their closeness, like it was just a part of the way they were. It was kind of sweet, she mused, but also kind of strange because there were times when there seemed to be something defensive about their actions.

Then again maybe she was just over thinking things.

"Hey Ran," Kazuha called, tugging on her arm. "You should go try that hammer game. I bet you'd cream the high scores."

"Sure," she agreed, turning away from the ring toss booth. "Where're Saguru and Heiji?"

Kazuha rolled her eyes. "Where do you think?" She jerked her chin towards a different game station where two familiar backs stood. Each had a pile of balls by their left elbow and the young woman running the station was just putting the finishing touches on two tin can pyramids. "I think they're on round eight. Round seven was the tie breaker."

Ran blinked. "Then shouldn't they have moved on?"

Kazuha gave her a dour look. "Let's see… Round five was a tie breaker too. And so was three."

"Oh."

"Yeah."

X

"I've been thinking about getting some birds," Kaito said quietly, holding up one of the delicate avian ornaments they had acquired from the ring toss as the two wandered among the booths. "Like the ones Tou-san had."

"I think I might have seen some in the pet store," Shinichi said after a moment's pause, bringing a small smile to his companion's lips. "You should probably ask your mom about it first though."

"She won't mind," Kaito replied confidently. "I was thinking of using that spare room upstairs for them."

"That room's a mess."

"Yeah, well, we'd have to make some adjustments of course."

"I guess we should stop by the bookstore on our way home then."

Kaito paused for a moment at that. "Was there something you wanted?"

"I was just thinking you could pick up a book about bird care. Though I…wouldn't mind taking a look around," he added, turning a shade pink.

The magician laughed. "All right, a trip to the bookstore it is then."

Kaito continued to talk, but Shinichi had stopped listening because the sky flashed red and fire blazed across it in a serpent's streak. Black shapes that might have been human crumbled to dust all around him before everything washed away in a tide of thick, gray smoke. Other shapes rose and fell from the smoke like dolphins leaping from a dull, gray black sea. A face emerged from the smoke, its expression twisted in anguish as its mouth grinned a madman's grin. Tears of blood streamed from the corners of the face's eyes—

He was on his knees, staring down at the concrete far too close to his nose. The air rasping through his throat felt harsh but he welcomed its rough solidity. For a moment all he could hear was his own heartbeat and the rasp of his breathing, then the faint roar resolved itself into the sound of the amusement park and a familiar voice calling his name.

Lifting his head, he found Kaito crouching before him. The magician's expression was carefully controlled but Shinichi could read the anxiety lurking behind his eyes and the tension in his shoulders. The grip he had on Shinichi's shoulders bordered on painful (yet the oracle hadn't noticed it until that moment, too caught up in the flood of images). Behind him a few curious, mildly concerned passersby stopped to watch.

"I'm all right," he rasped out before the magician could say any more. When Kaito gave him a skeptical look he covered one of the magician's hands with his own and did his best to smile. "I just—got a bit caught up."

"Another vision." It wasn't a question and the oracle didn't bother to answer. Kaito let out a quiet breath and sat back on his heels, loosening his hold but not letting go. "What was it this time?"

"Well…" Shinichi frowned in concentration, thinking back and sorting through the fragments of images that had flashed before his eyes. The crimson sky and the smoke he remembered clearly, but the rest of it… It was important—he knew it was important. It was the face and the hands and—

"I—I've seen him before," he gasped in realization as he scrambled to his feet.

"Seen who?" Kaito asked in confusion as Shinichi took off running, dragging the magician along with him.

"The man with that face," the oracle replied a bit distractedly, eyes darting over the faces of everyone they passed.

Kaito couldn't make heads or tails out of the statement but he picked up his pace anyway. Shinichi's visions could often be hard to place on a timeline but the oracle himself had always had something of an instinctive sense for their urgency. Over the years that sense had become more accurate. If he was running, then there was a reason for it.

They had almost reached the edge of the carnival zone when Shinichi nearly crashed headfirst into Hattori.

"Whoa!" the dark-skinned teen exclaimed, catching the oracle's shoulder automatically to steady him. "Where're you two going in such a hurry? We've still got ten minutes before we get our table."

"There's no time for that!" Shinichi exclaimed. "We have to find him right now!"

Hattori's confusion only grew. "Him? Who're you talking about?"

"That man," the oracle explained, urgency making the words tumble out in a rush. "The one in the green coat that was on the bus with us. He's going to try and blow up the rollercoaster—the big red one in the middle of the park."

Hattori gaped at him for a moment before glancing over at Kaito as though wondering why the magician was so calm when his friend had apparently lost his mind. "Uh, no offense or anything, but this isn't your idea of a joke, is it?"

Shinichi stood frozen for a moment, staring at the detective, then he ducked around him and set off at a sprint, Kaito close on his heels. Hattori stared after them, his mouth hanging open slightly. What was going on here? Giving himself a shake, he glanced around the carnival, searching for Hakuba's distinctive, blond hair and hoping that the girls were with him. Weird and confusing or not, the fact remained that the two had just gone haring off like they had hell hounds snapping at their heels. As the two newcomers' self appointed guides, they had to at least try and understand what was going on.

X

Shinichi focused on the face from his vision, trusting his powers to guide him and Kaito to keep him from running into anyone. The people they passed spared them little more than the occasional, curious glance. To them, they were just two more teenagers running around the amusement park on some errand or other that no doubt only the young would understand. On the horizon the bright, scarlet rollercoaster loomed larger and larger, the delighted screams of its passengers a distant siren's call.

Shinichi skidded to a halt beside a cotton candy stand and stood for several seconds with his eyes closed. Then he turned sharply to the right and set off again. They passed two smaller coasters before he spotted a stand of vending machines located beneath the spreading boughs of a small grove. There, half camouflaged against the trees by the dappled shadows of the grove, was a man in a long, green coat. He had one hand in his pockets as he gazed up at the crimson coaster, his lips moving silently. As they drew closer Kaito could make out the words being spoken even if he couldn't hear them.

Eight.

Seven.

It was a countdown, he realized. And judging from the way the man's arm twitched in anticipation, whatever was coming was related to whatever was being hidden in the pocket of that green coat.

Shinichi made a jump for the man in the green coat, eyes fixed on the man's concealed hand, but before he could reach his goal the man glanced in his direction. His eyes widened and he took a step back—just as Kaito materialized from the shadows behind him. The magician delivered a quick but sharp blow to the back of the man's head, causing him to fold like so much boneless cloth.

Dropping to his knees beside the man, Shinichi pulled a small remote control from the coat pocket. A sigh of relief rushed past his lips and he sat back on his heels. For a moment he just looked down at the unconscious figure on the ground. Then he looked up at Kaito with a slightly lost look.

"What are we supposed to do now?" he wondered, gingerly raising the remote control.

"You could start by giving that to park security," a voice said from behind him.

He started and glanced around to find Hakuba and Hattori approaching them. It was the blonde who had spoken. He had a rather speculative look on his face while his companion just seemed bemused. "They will be here shortly. Ran and Kazuha went to alert them."

Hattori reached over and took the remote control from Shinichi's loose grip. "Is that really—it is!" he gasped, surprised and a bit nonplussed. "But then where's the bomb?"

"Under the second car on the coaster," Shinichi answered without thinking.

Both detectives turned to look at him and he paled under their stares. He was saved from the questions he could just see hovering on the tips of their tongues however by the arrival of Ran, Kazuha, and park security. Hakuba and Hattori became the center of attention as the security personnel recognized them.

"Are you all right?" Kaito asked quietly as he helped Shinichi to his feet. The oracle still looked unnaturally pale.

"I'm fine," Shinichi assured him. But he swayed a bit unsteadily on his feet and had to lean on the magician to keep from falling.

Kaito raised an eloquent eyebrow at that as he wrapped an arm around Shinichi's waist to steady him. "Right. You really need to work on that delivery if you want anyone to believe you."

Shinichi smiled sheepishly. "Just tired." And maybe a bit dizzy, but that was nothing new. It was just a side effect of being temporarily detached from the present.

"Are you two okay?" Ran asked, wandering over with Kazuha as the detectives left with park security and the green-coated man who was beginning to stir. "You seem kind of pale."

"We're okay," Kaito replied, offering them a reassuring smile. "Just a bit worn out I guess. That was some adventure."

Kazuha snorted. "If you keep hanging around with those two idiots I'm afraid you'll probably see a lot more of this kind of stuff. They kind of tend to go looking for it, being detectives and all."

"So this happens a lot?" the magician inquired, eyebrows rising. "I was kind of hoping it was a once in a lifetime kind of thing."

Ran laughed lightly, sounding more than a bit exasperated. "Don't worry, it doesn't happen every day or anything. But with those two getting called in by the police all the time it's kind of inevitable that we see these things more than other people do."

"Let's talk about something else," Kazuha cut in. "Since we'll hear about it when they get back and all. Anyone want a soda? There're some benches over there. Why don't we go sit down?"

X

Hakuba and Hattori returned nearly a whole hour later. Hattori dropped onto the bench beside Kazuha as his fellow detective seated himself next to Ran.

"So how did it go?" Ran asked, handing Hakuba one of the sodas they'd bought from the vending machines.

"They found the bomb and it has been taken care of," the blonde replied, accepting the can with a grateful smile.

"And that man?"

"The police came for him," Hattori said, letting out a tired sigh. "Guy wouldn't stop screamin' at everyone once he was awake enough to talk. Seems there used to be another amusement park here before they renovated it into Tropical Land. Apparently his daughter fell from one of the roller coasters in that park a few years ago because they hadn't maintained their equipment as well as they should have. He was furious that they would reopen a park here after that—thinks they just gave the place a new name to cover up the scandal or something like that."

"That's just stupid," Kazuha grumbled.

"Well, no one ever said these kinds of people were wise. Man, and we missed our lunch appointment too."

"We can always find somewhere else to eat," Ran said soothingly.

"I saw a hotdog stand not too far from here," Hakuba agreed. "I'll go get some."

Fifteen minutes later found the six seated on some benches with hotdogs and sodas in hand. It wasn't a feast by any means, but it was calming and they all needed that.

"There's something I still don't understand however," Hakuba said as they rose to leave. Turning to Shinichi, he studied the oracle for a long moment as though trying to find the answer to some complex puzzle. "How did you know what was going to happen? We barely got a glimpse of that man on the bus and we hadn't been near the central coasters at all before lunchtime."

Shinichi felt his blood run momentarily cold at the inquiry. "I—overheard him talking to himself on the bus," he stammered. "I just—didn't realize what he was talking about. But it kept bothering me all morning and, well…"

"Guess we got lucky then," Hattori sighed. "So you guys all ready to head home?"

X

The bus ride home was a quiet one. They were all tired and no one was really up to making small talk. Shinichi had the impression that Hakuba and Hattori still wanted to question him, so he pretended to sleep with his head on Kaito's shoulder. The magician too had been oddly silent, but he recognized it as one of Kaito's moments. They didn't happen very often, but there were times, usually when Kaito was particularly upset or had a really serious issue to ponder, and when they did it was usually better just to let him think it out.

Shinichi himself found his own thoughts too restless for real sleep no matter how much the rest of him yearned for it. That morning felt like a million years ago and all he seemed to be able to think about was the near disaster that might have happened that day.

If he hadn't come…if this vision hadn't been one of the ones he could decipher quickly…

For a long time now he'd come to see the visions as his personal curse. It was useful, true, and he'd needed it—they'd needed it to survive—but it was also partly to blame for all the bad things they had had to face. Now that they had left that part of their lives behind, it had become little more than a burden. Or at least that was how he had been thinking about it. But maybe…maybe there were good things about it too.

And yet…if he had to admit that there was a place for the visions after all… Then that would mean he couldn't push them away. Couldn't let them go. If it ever became possible to get rid of them, he wouldn't be able to just throw them away anymore.

He wasn't sure how he was supposed to feel about that.

Thinking back, he thought he could remember a time long ago when he'd wanted to solve mysteries. It had probably been a side effect of reading all the detective novels in his father's library as well as the ones his father had written. He'd loved the idea of being able to live those adventures. And back then the visions had seemed like a step towards that dream—a key that he alone held that would allow him to help the world in a way no other detective ever had and a way to practice the art of solving puzzles. But now…he wasn't sure what he wanted anymore. He didn't really want adventures anymore. All he really wanted, for this moment, for now, was to live a normal life with Kaito and his mom. To just be able to feel the sunlight on his skin and hear the wind whisper through the trees. Yes, just to be here now…that was enough.

And though he knew now that he would never be able to set aside this curse of knowing, he would cherish these moments of peace for the priceless treasures that they were—all the more for he knew now that they, like everything else, could not last forever.

When they got home the two ornamental birds they had acquired from the amusement park were hung up together in the window of their bedroom, their blue and white feathers bright and untouchable against the late evening sky.


	6. Nothing Like a Home Cooked Meal

When the hospital called, neither Kaito nor Shinichi had picked up the phone since they had both been at school. Therefore they didn't get the news until they got back and saw the message light blinking on the answering machine. Slightly confused by this since practically no one had their phone number, they'd pressed the button to play their messages. When the speaker announced that she was from the hospital, both boys had suffered a moment of panic before the rest of her words sank in.

"Did I hear that right?" Kaito demanded the moment the message stopped. Excitement simmered just below the surface of his voice but he held it in check as he turned his gaze to meet Shinichi's.

The oracle nodded, a matching smile breaking out across his face. "If you heard her saying that your mom's coming home this Friday then yes, you did."

The magician let out a whoop of delight and yanked Shinichi into an enthusiastic hug which left the oracle struggling for air. "It's about time!"

"Kai—can't breathe…!"

The magician loosened his grip and backed off a step, still grinning like a loon. "We can call in sick on Friday and go pick her up."

Shinichi let out a sigh of relief as oxygen rushed back into his lungs. "I'm sure they'd understand if you just told them the truth."

"It doesn't really matter anyway," Kaito replied, waving away the comment with a careless sweep of his hand. "We should celebrate somehow," he mused. "Something unique. That we haven't done before and that she wouldn't expect."

"We could make something special for dinner," Shinichi suggested. "She's been in the hospital all this time, I'm sure she'd appreciate some good food."

"You know, that's not a bad idea. Question is, can we cook?"

"We won't know unless we try," Shinichi reasoned. "It couldn't be that hard… We just need to go to the library and borrow some cookbooks. As long as we follow the instructions exactly I don't see any reason for it not to turn out okay."

X

Operation Dinner began with a dozen different cookbooks acquired from the local library. Since neither of them had any idea of what would be best, they had picked the ones with the most appealing pictures. As Kaito said, "If it tastes mediocre, at least it'll look good."

Shinichi wasn't sure if this was the best philosophy to go by, but it was better than nothing so they had borrowed the books and brought them home to sort through. Two hours of flipping through glossy pages covered in beautiful photographs of various dishes and they had selected a recipe for crab cakes (Kaito liked that the name sounded funny), curry (because they knew what it was), and a hot fudge sundae cake (of course dessert had to be full of chocolate, the more the better). Personally, Shinichi didn't think it sounded like a very balanced meal (weren't there supposed to be vegetables? Or did the veggies in the curry count?), but at least the main dish looked easy enough to make and the rest of it entertained Kaito enough to ensure that he wouldn't lose interest.

The next step was a trip to the super market. Up until that point they had mostly ordered out or bought simple foods. Still, this was a kind of everyday adventure that Shinichi rather thought would be good for them. They'd have to learn to cook eventually after all. Eating out all the time was too expensive.

Kaito had only ever gone to the grocery store to pick up snacks—mostly when Shinichi wasn't looking—so the only part of the place he was familiar with was the sweets aisles and the small bakery in the back. He was fairly happy for matters to stay that way and just let Shinichi deal with the proper food but this was a special occasion. His mother was finally going to be discharged from the hospital and they would all be together again. If that wasn't worth celebrating, he didn't know what was. But he still wanted to get a pack of those delicious chocolate bars he'd discovered on his last trip to the market.

"Why don't you go get the vegetables and I'll go find the coco powder and the rest of the baking stuff?" he suggested the moment they stepped through the automatic doors. "Then we can meet up at the meat section."

Shinichi gave him a puzzled look (Kaito still didn't like to let him out of his sight when they were out) before realization dawned and he sighed. "Just don't get too much candy. You're going to get cavities if you're not careful." And the magician already had too much energy to burn without the extra sugar. But saying that would only encourage him.

"Of course not," Kaito agreed airily in a manner that told Shinichi he was going to have to check over their selection before they checked out lest their pantry be more sweets than food. "Remember, head to the meat section when you're done. Whoever gets there first should pick out the chicken for the curry."

Shinichi watched the magician bound towards the baking aisles with the sudden feeling that this whole escapade was a bad idea. He shook it off, reminding himself that they were just trying to cook something. It wasn't rocket science. Lots of people did this kind of thing every single day without anything bad happening. And surely there was only so bad it could get.

With that semi comforting thought in mind he approached the islands of vegetables and fruits that occupied the left half of the store.

"Let's see…" he murmured to himself as he perused the list he'd written up in the pocket notebook he'd acquired from the local bookstore. "We need carrots, cucumbers, potatoes, onions, mushrooms…" Funny. The list looked a lot longer now that he was here. "Well, I guess we'd better get started."

X

What Kaito loved most about this particular super market was that they had an entire aisle devoted to chocolate. Other lesser candies had been relegated to the next row over to make room for everything from black chocolate blocks the size of bricks to chocolate covered pretzels. He'd already grabbed two boxes of coco powder and dropped them in his basket. Now it was time to pick the real treats and oh there were just so many to choose from!

Should he get a bag of milk chocolate covered raisins or some of those mint chocolate patties? Or maybe one of those mixed assortment bags. That one sure looked full of interesting things.

Or he could get some of each. He'd just have to go check some of the extra items out before going to meet with Shinichi.

Mind made up, he dumped his findings into the basket and continued towards the aisle where he thought the flour and other baking necessities would be.

X

Shinichi was hovering over the apples (he'd decided to pick up some fruits while they were there) when he heard someone call his name. Looking around, he saw Ran coming towards him. Like him, she had a shopping basket over one arm.

"Do you come here often?" she asked as she approached. "I've never seen you here before."

"No, I've only been here a few times since we moved here," he replied.

Ran nodded, glancing into his basket and raising her eyebrows slightly. "Wow that's a lot of food. Is it for some kind of special occasion?"

"Kaito's mom is being released from the hospital tomorrow," Shinichi explained. "We've decided to make something special to celebrate."

"Oh I see, congratulations," Ran said with a warm smile. "In that case you should really buy these," she added, her hands darting this way and that over the produce display with the assurance of an expert. "Everything at this market tends to be pretty fresh, but these look the most healthy. And look here, that one you picked up a moment ago is bruised."

Shinichi nodded as he trailed after her from island to island, listening to her explain the fine points of how to pick high quality produce. "I never realized there was so much to think about. Do you cook a lot then?"

The girl laughed a bit sheepishly. "Yeah. Cooking's always been a hobby for me. And my dad can't cook to save his life so if I want the house to stay standing I have to keep him out of the kitchen."

"Keep the house standing…?"

Ran sighed, exasperation clear in her voice as she explained. "Let's just say that last time he turned on the stove he left the pot on too long and ended up starting a fire."

"I see." Shinichi made a mental note to pick up a timer. "Well, thank you for all the help. I had no idea there was so much to pay attention to when getting ingredients."

"I'm glad I could help," she replied. "If you ever need any tips, don't hesitate to ask. By the way, if you live around here, you should make sure to lock all your doors and windows whenever you're not home. There's been a few break-ins in the area."

"We'll remember. Thanks again."

Shinichi was not at all surprised to see all the various types of chocolate that hadn't been in their baskets when he'd gone through the checkout line appear in the cupboard while they unpacked. What he was surprised to see was the tub of chocolate ice cream that materialized in the fridge. How had Kaito managed both to keep the tub hidden and stop it from melting? Shinichi would have thought he'd used real magic, but Kaito was fairly good about keeping his promise not to use that in public.

X

The actual cooking part of the experiment went…well, it could have gone better certainly, but Shinichi was relieved to say that nothing caught fire. There were however a few bumps along the road that he would look back on in the future and wonder if he should laugh or groan.

"Uh…Shinichi?"

"Huh?" The oracle glanced up from the open cookbook he was reading to see Kaito staring down into the sink. "What is it?"

"Did we buy extra cucumbers?"

"I…think we might have. Why?"

Turning fully to face Shinichi, Kaito held up two thin, pale green sticks. Shinichi stared at them for a moment before he realized that they were the cucumbers Kaito had been skinning. What was left of them anyway. Each of the pale, green cucumbers was about half the size they had been before the skinning.

"…"

"…"

Rising from the table, Shinichi moved over to the sink and looked down. Sure enough, the cucumber peels littered the metal basin in countless strips of dark and light green. Some of the slivers were mostly the pale green of the cucumber interiors with only threads of darker green skin.

"It wasn't easy getting all the bits," Kaito said by way of explanation, sounding slightly sheepish but also kind of amused. "Sorry."

They'd ended up skinning all six cucumbers. The post-skinning results grew progressively less diminutive with each of Kaito's attempts, but not by much. Apparently skill with his hands didn't translate to the skinning of vegetables. Shinichi decided to skin the carrots himself and set Kaito to cutting up the things that would go into the curry.

"Remember, everything's supposed to be cut to about the same size."

Kaito flipped the knife he was holding so that it spun three full circles in the air before catching it again and grinning. For added effect blue and white sparks spun through the air in the wake of the knife's sharp edge as though it had cleaved the air itself into pieces. "Got it."

The next few minutes went by quietly as the assorted curry ingredients were reduced to small pieces one by one. Shinichi was slightly shocked when he was presented with several trays of perfectly cubed cucumbers, carrots, mushrooms, and even meat, but, well…even if it looked weird, at least he could say with perfect honesty that they were all exactly the same size.

"I'll finish the curry," he announced, finding the mental image of Kaito at the stove…unsettling. "Why don't you do the cake? The instructions are bookmarked."

Cooking, Shinichi decided as he stirred the contents of the curry pot, was actually kind of relaxing. All you had to do was follow the instructions and watch as something new appeared. It was almost like a different kind of magic seeing all those raw ingredients come together and become something else entirely. The fact that you could eat what appeared was a nice bonus too.

By chance he glanced over to where Kaito was hovering over the baking dish containing the soon-to-be-cake and yelped. "Kaito! What are you doing?"

"Adding the chocolate of course," Kaito replied without looking up from his work. "What does it look like?"

"It says one fourth of a cup, not two whole cups!"

"But it's a chocolate cake," the magician protested. "How can a chocolate cake be good with only one fourth cups and some teaspoons of chocolate in it?"

"Why didn't you just buy some chocolate bars then?" the oracle huffed, snatching the pan out from under Kaito's clutches and beginning to try and gently scrape the excess chocolate powder off of the top of the mix. It didn't work very well.

"I did," Kaito replied, trying to take the pan back so he could replace the powder Shinichi had managed to remove. "But that doesn't mean I don't want the cake to taste good."

"Lots of chocolate does not equate tasting good," Shinichi countered, shouldering his way between Kaito and the pan and using himself to shield the cake mix from the magician who seemed intent on drowning it in coco powder. He shot a glance at the numbers on the oven and noted that it had finished preheating. Quickly, he picked up the pan and dove for the oven. Pulling it open, he shoved the cake mix inside and shut the door before Kaito could grab it again.

X

Kuroba Chikage looked up at the house her son and the boy she thought of as her second child had escorted her up to and for a moment she felt her eyes tearing up. She blinked quickly to clear the tears away, not wanting to worry the boys who she could feel were watching her anxiously. She had never said anything about it to Kaito during the times she had been allowed to see him during their imprisonment, but she had lost hope years ago of ever being able to go back to that world that had begun to feel like a distant dream…of ever being able to really live again. And the thought that her children would never have the chance to grow up and make friends and go out there to fulfill those dreams they used to talk about all the time… There were no words that could describe the terrible ache that realization had brought with it. Not only had she lost her husband and two of the best friends she'd ever had, but she had failed their children and couldn't do a thing about it.

She had been utterly useless, and she would never be able to forgive herself for that. But now…now she was standing here with both of them by her side and it was all real.

Real like the smiles they had worn when they had greeted her at the hospital that day.

"And this is your room," Shinichi was saying as he and Kaito showed her into a sizable room furnished in warm colors. "We, uh, didn't know what kinds of patterns you'd like," the oracle continued, looking slightly embarrassed. "But you can get it changed if you want. They have a lot of patterns at the store and they said it was all right to go switch colors when we told them, and—"

"It's wonderful," she assured him, smiling warmly as she took in the room. "Thank you both."

"Oh, and we made lunch!" Kaito announced, herding them all towards the kitchen.

Chikage blinked in surprise at the pronouncement. Neither boy had ever shown any interest in the culinary arts as far as she could remember (and frankly she'd never liked the idea of her son in a kitchen).

Kaito pulled out a chair for her before making a beeline for the silverware as Shinichi dealt with the serving. Three plates of curry and white rice were set out on the table along with…flat, crunchy looking brown things.

Shinichi caught her looking at the odd, brown things and blushed. "Uh…just think about them as…crab cookies, I guess."

"Okay," she agreed, hiding a smile. "So when did you two learn how to cook?"

"We got cookbooks from the library," Kaito replied, handing everyone their own set of utensils before plopping into a chair himself. "There's dessert too!"

"Really? And what might it be?" Chikage asked, rather curious.

To her surprise, the innocent question caused Shinichi to groan as Kaito grinned and scratched the back of his head. "Chocolate ice cream. It was going to be cake, but…it didn't turn out right."

"And whose fault would that be," Shinichi muttered, grimacing at the memory.

"Aww come on, it wasn't that bad. At least we know what not to do next time."

Chikage laughed as she picked up her spoon. It was the first time she had laughed in such a long time that it sounded foreign even to her own ears, but it felt good too. It was…like seeing the sun rise in a clear sky after a night full of storms.

It wasn't the best tasting meal in the world, but no one could say it wasn't interesting. And it was the first meal they had all sat down to together in this new home and that made all the difference.


	7. Standing Still

"Have fun!" Shinichi called, waving.

Chikage and Kaito waved back before setting off down the street towards the bus stop. The two of them were headed for the opera being performed at one of the city's larger theaters. It was a show Chikage had always wanted to see and the theater had been selling tickets at a discount as part of a promotion. They'd asked if he wanted to go with them but he'd declined. Kaito and his mother deserved to have some time alone together. That, and there was something Shinichi couldn't ignore.

They were going to have an uninvited guest and he had to set up a few, ah, welcoming devices. He'd have to borrow some of Kaito's supplies, but he knew the magician wouldn't mind.

He had only just finished setting everything up when he glimpsed a shadow outside the backyard door. Ducking quickly down behind the kitchen counter, he peeked around the corner.

The first feature of the intruder that Shinichi saw was the huge, bristling mustache. It dominated what felt like at least a third of the man's face and he couldn't stop himself from staring (it was only by biting his tongue that he managed not to laugh out loud). Beneath the baseball hat pulled low over weasel-like eyes the rest of the man was fairly unmemorable.

Drawing back fully behind the shield of the kitchen counter, Shinichi crawled around the corner before pausing again to listen. There was a long moment of silence before he heard a series of strange, scraping noises. Eventually the window over the kitchen sink creaked open. There followed the sound of the intruder carefully climbing inside—

The intruder let out an involuntary yell of surprise as his foot slipped on the inner edge of the counter by the sink where Shinichi had carefully applied oil that morning. There was a thump and a crash as he tumbled off the counter and landed painfully on the floor. Under the cover of the noise, Shinichi hurried up the stairs.

They didn't have much in the way of valuables in the house (or anywhere else for that matter). What little they did have that a burglar might consider worth stealing, he had already hidden away. In their place, Shinichi had left the guy a few…gifts, courtesy of Kaito's stock (which he would have to remember to run down to the store and replace).

X

Kaito had never been to an opera before. So he'd been looking forward to seeing what an opera would be like. Although what he really wanted to see was that excited glimmer in his mother's eyes as they filed inside to find their seats. It had been so long since they had just been able to go out and enjoy themselves as a family. They had had lunch at a small Italian restaurant before he'd spent a few hours giving his mother a tour of the city. And now they were here.

It kind of made him wish… But there wasn't any point in thinking about the what ifs.

"Kaito?"

Pulling his thoughts back to the present, he turned to meet his mother's curious gaze. "What is it?"

She studied his face for a long moment and he had to wonder how much of his thoughts she could guess. He could see the flicker of sadness in her gaze, but there was something else too. Something warm and bright.

"Thank you," she said softly.

And he really didn't know what he was supposed to say to that, because somewhere deep down he still felt like he should be apologizing. For not getting her out sooner and for having caused her so much worry. But in her smile he could see that none of that really mattered. Not anymore.

"Better look forward," he said finally, his own grin softening into a smile. "The show's about to begin."

X

Shinichi had to admit, the intruder was persistent. He'd expected the man to leave after he'd set off all seven traps downstairs and found nothing. But instead the guy was coming up the stairs in what sounded like a determined huff. Maybe the three bumps on the head and the plaster coat had only made him mad?

Well, if he wanted to come upstairs, it was his own fault for not taking the hint.

Slipping into his and Kaito's room, he carefully closed the door and ran a check over the wiring. Satisfied, he stepped back towards the door and wobbled as his vision twisted. Gritting his teeth, he dropped quickly to the ground and turned so that he could lean against the door.

He could not be taken by a vision right now!

His fists clenched at his sides as he gritted his teeth, fighting to focus on the solidity of the floor beneath him and the door against his back. His fingernails dug into his palms but the darkness around the edges of his vision continued to creep in. Everything was beginning to melt and fade. Cursing silently, he raised a hand to his mouth and bit down hard enough to draw blood and stifle the cry that had almost given him away. The pain in his hand pushed the wavering edges back and he shifted quickly so that he could place his eye against the crick between the door and its frame.

Almost as though on cue, he saw the dark silhouette of the intruder passing his position. Reaching out quickly, he tugged on the wire beside him.

That was when something massive, black, and hairy fell from the ceiling and right on top of the intruder. Parts of it were cold and slimy, other parts flapped loose, and the whole thing smelled of fur. It squealed. The man let out a yell as his nerve finally snapped.

Shinichi watched the man run from the house as though he had hell hounds on his trail with a satisfied smile. Now he just had to get everything back in order and make a run to the store before Kaito got home.

It never crossed his mind that there was such a thing as police.

X

"So what did you want for dinner?" Kaito inquired as he and his mother emerged from the opera house into the cooling, evening air. Around them the rest of the audience ebbed and flowed, their quiet chattering melding together into an indistinguishable hum.

"Anything is fine," Chikage replied, glancing up at the deepening blue of the sky. For an instant there, in the first moment of being outside again after the few hours spent in the dark performance hall, everything felt so surreal.

"How about sushi then?" Kaito suggested, steering them both through the dispersing crowd. "There's a sushi house not too far from here. I don't know how it would compare to back home, but…"

"Sushi sounds wonderful."

They were waiting for a table when a vaguely familiar voice called to them in surprise.

"Kaito?"

Glancing around, the magician spotted a girl whose dark hair was pulled back into a ponytail. "Oh, hello. Kazuha, right?"

The girl nodded, smiling, before her gaze flickered to Chikage.

"This is my mom," Kaito said smoothly. "Mom, this is Toyama Kazuha."

"It's very nice to meet you," Kazuha said, bowing slightly to the older woman.

"Likewise," Chikage replied. "Are you here with your family then?"

"Mine and Heiji's actually," Kazuha explained. "I guess it's kind of a family tradition. My dad and Heiji's dad have known each other for a really long time and they work together a lot, so we all get together to eat dinner at least once every few weeks. The food here is amazing so we come here a lot."

"Can we ask you for recommendations then?" the older woman asked, gesturing at one of the menus she and Kaito had been perusing while they waited.

Kazuha's eyes lit up. "Of course." She cast a quick glance across the restaurant before picking up the menu. "They shouldn't miss me for a few more minutes. Let's see… Personally, I've always really liked the…"

X

"We're home!" Kaito called out as he and his mother entered the house. There was no response and all the lights were off.

"Hush, you should keep your voice down," Chikage admonished, moving to hang her coat in the closet. "It's late. Shinichi could already be asleep. In fact we should be going to bed ourselves."

"I guess," the magician said a touch doubtfully.

His mother smiled and wished him good night before retiring to her room. He watched her go then made his own way to his and Shinichi's room. It too was dark but for the glimmer of the moon's light. Apparently Shinichi had forgotten to close the curtains.

Shinichi himself was curled up on top of the covers. Even from across the room Kaito could see that he was indeed asleep. And that in itself was a bit odd. The oracle must have been extremely tired to have fallen asleep before Kaito got back. And obviously he hadn't intended to fall asleep if the book lying on the floor by the bed was any indication. Shinichi would never leave a book on the floor, especially not one of his beloved mystery novels. And there was the additional fact that he wasn't under the covers. But why would he be tired? He should have been at home the whole day.

Padding silently to the bed, Kaito frowned as his sharp eyes caught a glimpse of something on the oracle's hand. Carefully, he reached over and tugged Shinichi's hand out from where it had been half curled and tucked under the pillow. There was one of those large, square bandages wrapped over the thumb-side of his palm, but they didn't cover the crescent shaped marks left behind by overly tightly clenched fists. He didn't have to check to have a fair idea of what was under the band-aid. He stared at the marks for a long moment before releasing it and watching as it was absently tucked back under the pillow by its sleeping owner.

He sat on the edge of the bed for a long moment, just watching Shinichi sleep.

It was ironic, he reflected, the things that even magic couldn't change. They almost always seemed to be the things you wanted most.

Getting up, he shifted Shinichi under the covers, careful not to wake him. That done, he went to brush and change his clothes before returning. Gathering the sleeping oracle to him, he closed his eyes.

There were a lot of things he couldn't change, but there were also things that he could. They just had to take things one step at a time.


	8. Sparks of the Stage

Kaito and Shinichi arrived in school that morning to find a horde of students swarming around the front of their classroom. Kaito automatically looped an arm around his companion to guide them through the commotion and to their seats.

"What's going on?" he asked Ran as he and Shinichi reached their seats.

The girl in question greeted them both with a smile. "People are just signing up for the talent show."

"Talent show?"

"Yeah," Sonoko said as she came up beside Ran and slung her bag off her shoulder and onto her seat. "You know, when people perform something they're good at. Didn't you guys have them at your old school?"

The magician shook his head. "No actually. So how does it work?"

"Well, everyone who wants to try out can sign up like they're doing over by the board right now," Ran explained. "Then they hold auditions for the rest of this week which are judged by the student council. They choose twenty five people who get to perform at the talent show being held two weeks from now."

Kaito hummed thoughtfully, turning his gaze to the front of the room where the crowd was beginning to thin.

"You should sign up," Shinichi said from his seat, looking up at his companion's pensive expression. "I know you want to."

Kaito hesitated only a moment longer before nodding decisively. "I think I'll do that." In a puff of smoke, he was gone. Shrieks of surprise from up near the sign-up sheets announced where he had reappeared.

"Aren't you interested?" Ran asked, looking at Shinichi.

He shook his head. "I don't like being stared at."

"All right class, if you still want to sign up you can do it during break," the teacher announced, shooing the students still milling up front back to their seats. "Now, the end of the semester is coming up soon. I have the guidelines for your final projects here. You will be working in groups of six…"

X

The times for everyone's auditions were posted in the relevant classrooms that day after school. Kaito was just heading over to check where his name had ended up but Shinichi stopped him.

"It's tomorrow at ten minutes past three," the oracle said by way of explanation before he frowned slightly. "Oh, wait, we told everyone we could have the project group meeting at our place after school earlier."

"That's all right. It shouldn't take long, so you can take everyone over after school and I'll join you guys when I'm done here."

"How did you know what time his audition would be?" a curious voice inquired, making them both jump. Two pairs of eyes turned to find Hakuba standing behind them, brown eyes fixed inquiringly on the oracle.

"I—saw it earlier when they came to put up the lists," Shinichi lied, forcing an uneasy smile onto his face.

"I see." The blonde eyed the two of them a moment longer before apparently deciding to let the matter drop. "Well, I have compiled a list of everyone's contact information here. If you do decide you need to change the meeting time, just call us." That said, he handed them the sheet of binder paper and moved to catch up to Ran and Heiji.

"That one sure is nosy," Kaito muttered, indigo eyes narrowing and turning a shade darker. He didn't like the idea of the self proclaimed detective poking around his and Shinichi's business.

"Kai, it's all right." Shinichi placed a reassuring hand on the magician's arm. He didn't like seeing that wary, dangerous look on Kaito's face. Like he was still seeing enemies in the shadows. "We're not worrying, remember?"

The magician glared a moment longer then relaxed, offering Shinichi a sheepish smile. "Right, sorry. Let's go. I need to pick up some supplies before we go home."

X

"So this is where you live?" Ran looked up at the house with interest before glancing at Shinichi. "What about you? Does your family live near here then? I mean, you two always come to school together."

Shinichi blinked then looked away. "My parents—passed away some time ago. I've been staying with Kaito and his mom since then."

"Oh, I'm sorry, I didn't mean to bring up bad memories…" the girl said guiltily.

The oracle shook his head though, giving her a faint smile. It was a somewhat sad smile, she thought, but there was something hopeful there too. "No, that's all right You couldn't have known. And it was a long time ago."

"So are we going in or are we all just gonna stand around out here?" Sonoko demanded impatiently as she wandered over from where she'd been examining the flowers in front of the house. "You might want to get a gardener for those by the way. They look like they haven't been getting enough water."

"Man, why do I have to carry your backpack for you?" Hattori demanded as he finally caught up to the group. He glared at Sonoko as he shoved said backpack into her arms. "What do you carry in there anyway? Bricks? If you're gonna ask someone else to lug your baggage, you should at least have the courtesy to make it light!"

"Oh grow up," the girl in question sniffed, slinging the pack over her shoulder. "You can't expect me to carry all that and walk all the way here. I'd be all sweaty and that would be gross."

"How does Makoto put up with you?"

"Children, I do believe we have more important matters at hand," Hakuba drawled.

Hattori immediately rounded on him with a scowl. "Shut up, you condescending bastard!"

"Do you guys want to come in?" Shinichi cut in before the fight could escalate. He opened the front door and gestured for them to enter. "Would anyone like anything to drink?"

His four guests filed into the house and he directed them into the living room before making his own way to the kitchen. Chikage had recently found a job at a local bakery so no one else was home. Filling the kettle with water, he put it on the stove to heat and went to root the teabags out of the cupboards. By the time he returned to the living room with a tray of cups and the teapot in hand the others had already set everything up.

All four of them had brought laptops and someone had even thought to bring an extension cord. Now they were all seated around the living room table in front of their respective laptops and Ran had pulled out the project guidelines.

"So basically we're supposed to be conducting a debate," she began, eyes skimming over the instructions. "She'll be giving us three of six modern issues and we'll have to debate them as though we're one of these people listed here from different time periods."

"Hey, this one actually sounds interesting," Hattori remarked, pulling out his own guidelines to look for himself. "Hey Hakuba, you should play the British dude."

"In case you have not noticed," Hakuba said dryly. "There are five British…dudes," he drew out the word like it was an unfamiliar and rather tasteless thing, "on this list."

"Why is the whole list made up of old dead guys?" Sonoko complained. "I mean, who cares what old, dead people would think about modern issues? They have nothing in common! They shouldn't even care."

Ran shook her head, torn between laughing and sighing in exasperation. "Er, I think you might be missing the point… The project is designed to get us to do research and think more in depth about different time periods and the people from them."

"Maybe we should start by deciding who we would each play," Shinichi suggested, sitting down with an open notebook in his hands. "Then we can conduct our individual research."

They all agreed and began perusing their options. When Kaito arrived, most of them had already started doing their research. He glanced around the room before taking a seat on the floor beside Shinichi. The oracle greeted him with a smile before his eyes flickered up to the clock and he realized that Kaito couldn't have gotten back this quickly on foot.

"No one saw me," the magician murmured into his ear before he could comment.

Shinichi frowned a little then shook it off and handed the character list to Kaito. "The ones with checks are the ones who've already been picked. You're supposed to choose who you want to research from the rest. Our textbooks have quite a lot of information on most of them already, and Ran says she can look up what books the library has on our choices for us too."

Kaito nodded and began to go down the list of names and the short descriptions next to them. Shinichi took a moment to look around the crowded living room. It felt so—so strange to have so many people over. But it was a good kind of strange.

X

"Man, I'm tired of working," Hattori complained much later. "We've been working for three hours straight! We should go watch a movie or something."

"I second that," Sonoko declared, shutting off her laptop with an irritated flick of her wrist. "I'm tired of working. Let's go do something fun and finish the research some other time. It's not like we don't still have loads of time. I'll bet no one else has even started yet!"

"I suppose we did get quite a lot done," Ran consented, leaning back to stretch her arms and shake out her wrists. "I wouldn't mind going out. What about the rest of you?"

"I wouldn't object to seeing a movie," Hakuba replied.

Hattori snorted, muttering something about 'bloody British prats' not being able to just say yes like a normal person. All four of them turned expectantly to the last two members of the group.

"When's your mom coming home?"

"She should be back any minute. But we could write Mom a note," Kaito mused, then he smiled at Shinichi. "Let's go."

"Great!" Hattori leapt to his feet, fishing his cell phone out of his pocket. "I'll just go give Kazuha a call and see if she wants to come."

Kaito also excused himself to go write that note to his mother, leaving Shinichi and the others to clean up the living room. Since most of their research notes were digital, they hadn't made much of a mess, but they had to pack the computers and Shinichi gathered up the cups and teapot to take back to the kitchen where he gave them a quick rinse.

He had worked his way through all the cups and was working on the teapot when a pair of arms wrapped around him from behind and Kaito leaned over his shoulder to watch him work. "You can leave that for later you know. Everyone's already waiting outside."

"I'm just about done anyway," he replied, setting the pot aside to dry. Turning off the water, he stared out the window over the sink for a moment, just relaxing into the magician's warm embrace. He still felt safest when they were like this. Tilting his head back, he glanced sideways and up into Kaito's face, and he thought that perhaps the magician too shared some of his thoughts. "Should we go then? We shouldn't make them wait for us."

Dragging his thoughts back from wherever they had wandered off to, Kaito nodded, lips quirking into a wry grin. "I want to try the popcorn when we get there. I want to know if it tastes as good as it smells."

X

The movie was an adventure film full of sword fights and sorcery with a dash of romance because Hattori had wanted action and Kazuha had wanted a love story and everyone else hadn't cared as long as it was funny. Kaito bought a large box of popcorn just like he'd said he would. He seemed to be enjoying it, but Shinichi thought the stuff tasted rather like buttered paper. After the first few bright yellow puffs he couldn't be bothered to eat any more so instead he snitched the lemonade that had come with the popcorn and settled in to watch the show.

There was something exciting about sitting in a dark theater with only the massive screen ahead for light. The atmosphere gave the images a strange sense of life even if he knew it was all fake. But what really struck him was that moment at the end when the hero and the heroine rode off along the seashore, content in the knowledge that all the darkness was behind them and now they had their happily ever after. No more villains, no more worries, just one bright road into a future of their own creation.

"Do you think we can ever really have that?" he'd wondered aloud as he leaned his head against Kaito's shoulder and watched the sun spread glittering fingerprints over the sea as it grew more and more vast and the riders more and more diminutive.

The magician wrapped an arm around his shoulders and leaned his own head on top of Shinichi's. "I think so."

"…That's good."

They fell silent as the credits began to scroll across the screen, content in the moment to believe that it was true.

"Uh…s—sorry to interrupt, but are you two coming?"

The two of them looked up to see Hattori standing at the end of their row of theater seats. The dark-skinned youth looked embarrassed for some reason as he looked everywhere but directly at them.

"Is something wrong?" Shinichi asked, puzzled.

"Er, no! No, nothing at all. Just, uh—" His awkward stuttering was interrupted by Sonoko's piercing tones.

"Hurry up you guys or we'll leave without you!"

"We wouldn't want that," Kaito remarked, chuckling. Getting to his feet, he stretched before offering the oracle his hand. "Come on."

The three of them caught up to the others as they were exiting the theater.

"So what did you think of the movie?" Kazuha asked as she fell back to walk beside Hattori.

"It was pretty decent," he replied with a shrug. "Though I don't understand why they had to stop in the middle of the most exciting fight scene just so the leads could kiss." He shook his head in disbelieving disappointment. "I mean seriously, it totally ruined the mood!"

"Only because you don't appreciate the fine art of romance," Kazuha retorted, folding her arms. "That was when you really see how the characters grew and that they really care about each other! The fight's the filler, not the other way around."

"What?" he spluttered. "No way! The whole point of the story is to beat the bad guy. The romance line is just for weird people like you who like the mushy stuff."

"Your eloquence never fails to astound me."

"Shut up Hakuba," he snapped. "Can't you see we're trying to have a conversation?"

"I thought they were arguing," Shinichi muttered under his breath. Sonoko must have heard him though because she snickered.

"It's just the way they are," Ran explained, her own eyes twinkling with mirth.

"Of course the kiss is important!" Kazuha was now fuming. "You only say it isn't 'cause you've never kissed anyone."

"Well neither have you," Hattori retorted before he halted abruptly and his eyes widened in shock. "Wait, you haven't, have you?"

The girl in question sniffed and walked past him. "Why would I tell you something like that?"

He gaped after her for a moment before running to catch up. In moments they had both bypassed the rest of the group. "But—hey! Wait, Kazuha~!"

"He sure is getting bent out of shape," Kaito remarked, rather amused by the other teen's incoherent spluttering.

Sonoko smirked. "That's because he's afraid someone's gone and taken Kazuha away from him before he gathered up the guts to admit he likes her."

"Sonoko…" Ran sighed, shaking her head at her friend's antics.

"Well you and Blondie aren't much better."

Ran flushed dark red. "Sonoko!"

"And what about you two?" she asked slyly, turning her gaze on the transfer students. "Either of you ever kiss anyone? Any significant others? Or are you still looking for that special someone?"

Kaito looked back at her with an impassive smile, but inside he was frowning. It sounded to him like she was implying that someone might come around to take Shinichi away from him one day.

No one was ever going to take Shinichi away from him.

Hakuba sighed from his position at the back of the group. "You do realize that our personal lives are none of your business?"

"Doesn't mean I can't ask, does it?" Sonoko shot back. "Honestly, sue a girl for being curious will you?"

"There is a fine line between curiosity and nosiness."

She snorted. "Says the so-called detective. You but into other people's business way more than I do."

"I, however, am working for a good cause."

"Whatever. Come on, let's get something to eat. I'm starving!"

Later, as the two of them were making their way home through the evening streets, Kaito found his mind drifting back to the movie and the question Shinichi had asked him. He thought about the promises he'd made to himself and the two people he loved and dreams they had left or forgotten. He couldn't see the future the way Shinichi could, but he knew without a doubt the things that he would never let go and the things that he must not forget.

So before closing his eyes to sleep that night, he cupped Shinichi's face with his hands and kissed him like the people in the movie had when they had made their own promises about their lives and their futures. Shinichi had looked at him with mild surprise but it lasted only for a moment.

And it seemed to them both as they fell asleep that night that finally, after all this time, they really were moving on.

X

"I got in!" Kaito announced, an excited grin stretched across his face as his eyes gleamed.

Shinichi smiled at his obvious elation. "Congratulations. Do you have everything you need?"

"I'm not sure yet," the magician replied, beginning to pace. Absently his hands produced several colorful balls and began to juggle. "I still haven't planned out the whole thing. I wanted to go take a look at the stage first, see what I have to work with. Hey, you know, the doves might be ready to start performing by then. Maybe I should…" He trailed off into a stream of quiet muttering as his juggling picked up speed.

"What's up with him?" Sonoko asked as she and Ran came up the aisle to get to their seats.

"He got into the talent show."

Ran smiled. "Oh, that's great, congratulations."

"I don't think he's listening," her friend remarked.

Kaito halted abruptly and spun around to face them so fast it made them jump. "I've got it! I need to go get something." That said, he spun on his heels and bounded out of the room. They stared after him in varying degrees of shock.

"But class is about to start!" Ran exclaimed. As if on cue, the bell rang.

Kaito missed first period that day but he was back by the time the bell rang for their second class of the day with a grin that looked in danger of cracking his face open. This made everyone give him a wide berth as he had gained something of a reputation for liking to pull pranks.

Kaito's excitement only grew as the day of the show approached. He would only have fifteen minutes to perform, but he was going to make sure that it was fifteen minutes of their lives that no one who came to the show would ever forget. On the night of the show, he walked Shinichi and his mother to the school theater's front entrance before vanishing to finish his preparations. He'd been listed as the show's finale and waiting for everyone else to finish was a pain, but when the time finally came to step out onto the stage all that nervous agitation melted away under the brilliant glow of the stage lights.

For the first time in a long time he thought back on his father's shows and his heart ached at the memory, but at the same time it swelled with an elation he couldn't even begin to describe because now he finally had the chance to step into that dream. A dream he'd abandoned years ago.


	9. Two Kinds of Magic

Chikage looked up from where she was frying eggs for breakfast on the stove when her son came strolling into the kitchen. She knew immediately that something was bothering him though to most people he would have looked like he did every other day.

"What's wrong?" she asked immediately, concern creeping up inside her.

Kaito looked up from his contemplation of the dining table with a slightly distracted smile that didn't reach his eyes. "It's nothing." Not really anyway. It was just that he'd woken up again that morning to find Shinichi whimpering in his sleep, caught up in some vision that might as well have been a nightmare. It had taken Kaito nearly five minutes to wake him up and five more after that to get him to talk about it. Or at least to get him to try to talk about it. Whatever the vision had been about, it seemed even Shinichi couldn't make heads or tails out of it. All he could say for sure was that it was something terrible.

Which, frankly, was the exact opposite of comforting.

Chikage studied his face for a long moment then returned to her cooking. "All right then."

She knew he wasn't being entirely honest with her, but if he didn't feel like talking about it then she wouldn't force him. She was well aware that their silence was their way of shielding her. But while she appreciated the thought, as a mother she would much rather they told her what the problem was, no matter how dreadful they might find it. She wasn't afraid of trouble. No, what she was afraid of was that she wouldn't be there for them when trouble came.

X

Shinichi leaned against the bathroom wall, eyes closed as he focused on breathing. The walls were still wavering before his eyes when he'd come in. He'd managed to get through all the necessary morning ablutions, but the lightheadedness was refusing to go away completely. If he didn't go soon though Kaito was going to come in looking for him, and then the magician would probably insist he stay home.

He gritted his teeth, forcing his eyes open and staring across at his reflection in the mirror. He refused to let this affliction control his life. So he had to live with it. That was fine. He wasn't going to let it stop him from living a normal life.

Well, the walls looked solid again. That was a good sign. Peeling himself off the wall that had been supporting him, he opened the door and nearly ran smack into Kaito on the other side.

"Oops, sorry," he apologized, blushing in embarrassment.

"No harm done," the magician assured him with a smile. "Come on, breakfast is getting cold."

Shinichi nodded and headed for the stairs with Kaito right behind him.

With a great deal of concentration, he managed to make it all the way through morning classes like any other day. If he didn't hear quite as much of the lessons as he would have liked, well, he could deal with that. Most of the material wasn't particularly hard and they had textbooks for a reason after all. What was a problem however was that all that fierce concentration on hanging on to the present meant that he was exhausted by lunchtime. And he could feel Kaito giving him searching looks whenever no one was looking.

Excusing himself, he left his lunch half eaten and made for the bathroom. Grateful to find it empty, he splashed cold water over his face. It helped, but not as much as he'd hoped.

He didn't have a watch, but he didn't need one to know that lunch was about to end. Frowning, he walked slowly and carefully back out into the hall and turned his feet towards the classroom.

He could smell smoke.

The school hallway heaved.

Fire roared at the storm ridden skies as the earth cracked and crumbled.

Voices were speaking to him.

The sea raged—

A hand touched his shoulder.

—blood red claws tore the sky into ragged pieces. Cities disintegrated. Screams rang out sharp and shrill and terrified—

There was no sound left.

—laughter. A terrible, mind-numbing, laugh.

X

When Hakuba had seen Shinichi slowly walking ahead of him on his way back to class from the school's small library, he had naturally called out a polite greeting. He was a little surprised when the transfer student didn't answer. By now the hall was mostly deserted and it seemed unlikely that Shinichi hadn't heard him. When he saw the other boy stumble however he had realized that something wasn't right. Picking up his pace, he reached out to steady Shinichi but missed as the boy chose that moment to fall.

The blonde stared for a moment in surprise, but that lasted only for a split second. Crouching down by his fallen classmate, he checked the boy's temperature. It seemed normal. Then he checked his pulse. That was racing much faster than it should be. Deciding it would be best to get the boy to the school infirmary, he was about to do just that when he was interrupted by Kaito, who had come to see why Shinichi hadn't come back yet.

"Shinichi!"

Shoving Hakuba out of the way none too gently, he dropped to his knees beside the oracle's unmoving form. He shook Shinichi's shoulder but the boy only curled in more on himself, his eyes scrunched shut as he began to shiver. Making a quick decision, he scooped Shinichi up into his arms and stood up. Focusing all of his concentration on home, he stepped sideways.

Hakuba was left standing alone in the deserted hallway, gaping at the spot where the transfer students had been only moments ago.

X

"I'm serious!" the blonde snapped, exasperation raising the volume of his voice despite his best efforts. "I know what I saw!"

"And that's why you gotta go see a doctor," Hattori retorted, unimpressed. "Honestly Hakuba, if this is your attempt at developing a sense of humor, it's not working."

"This is not a joke!"

"I'll say. Jokes are supposed to be funny. This is just weird."

Hakuba stared at his fellow detective. Had he not heard a single word he'd said?

"Well, Saguru, Kaito is a magician," Ran spoke up, maneuvering her way carefully between the two in an attempt to diffuse the rising antagonism. "It's not like he hasn't done disappearing tricks before. Isn't it possible that that's what you saw?"

"I…I don't know," he admitted, breath leaving him in a frustrated sigh. "I suppose it is possible. It just…looked real. No smoke, no lights, no distractions. Just one moment they were there and the next they were gone."

"But why'd they leave?" Hattori asked, his own curiosity piquing. "They don't usually cut classes."

The blonde frowned. He'd been so caught up in the shock of seeing two people vanish before his eyes that he had almost forgotten about the other odd incident of the day. "Shinichi appeared to be ill. He collapsed in the hallway."

"What?" Ran gasped, horrified. "Is he all right?"

"I don't know."

"Maybe it's just me, but I kinda think that's more important than how they managed to look like they disappeared. We should go see 'em after school," Heiji declared. "And I guess maybe we could get the whole vanishing thing cleared up too while we're at it."

X

The house was still and silent as they approached it. The windows had all been pulled shut and no light showed anywhere. It looked like there was no one home. Even so the three high school students made their way up to the front door and rang the doorbell. None of them were sure what to expect.

They were all taken aback by the indigo glare they were leveled with when the door opened. There was no surprise in his voice at their appearance, but nor was there any welcome. Kaito had never been anything but cheerful in front of them. It was like this was an entirely different person standing in front of them now. It made Ran wonder just how much they actually knew about him and Shinichi. Practically nothing, now that she thought about it.

"What do you want?" he asked, his voice neutral but his gaze still hard as stone.

"We came to see how Shinichi was doing," Hakuba replied when neither of his companions volunteered an answer. The magician's gaze focused on his face and he had to admit, if only to himself, that what he really wanted at that moment was to back away.

A few long moments of uncomfortable silence passed before Kaito let the hand that had been resting on the doorframe like a blockade drop and stepped back. "Well, come in then."

And suddenly there was no hint of the almost frightening demeanor he'd exhibited when he'd first answered the door. The usual grin was back and if they hadn't all seen it earlier none of them would have believed that he had ever been different.

Still… The three traded glances, none of them particularly eager to be the first one in. Eventually Hattori squared his shoulders and stepped over the threshold. The other two followed right behind him. Kaito was watching them with obvious amusement. Once they began taking off their shoes, he shut and locked the door.

The three visitors were directed into the living room as Kaito disappeared upstairs.

The magician made his way to his and Shinichi's bedroom. He wasn't surprised to see the oracle sitting up when he walked in. It was, after all, Shinichi who had told him the three were coming.

"How are you feeling?" he asked, taking a seat beside Shinichi and wrapping an arm around him.

The oracle let out a quiet sigh as he relaxed against him, resting his head on Kaito's shoulder. "Better. So you let them in."

"I did," Kaito agreed. "If you don't want to see them, I'll tell them to leave." Really he was kind of tempted to do so anyway.

"They don't mean any harm you know," Shinichi murmured, sounding amused despite his weariness.

Kaito snorted. "I know, but they're also nosy. You know they're going to want answers."

"Well, you were the one who went and used magic in front of one of them," Shinichi pointed out.

"Because I had to get you home."

Shinichi let out a quiet sigh. "I'm sorry."

Kaito frowned, looking down as best he could at his companion's face only to find that Shinichi had his eyes closed. "About what?"

"…Making you bring me home…making you worry…" He hated this feeling. Like he was in the way.

"It's not your fault." When Shinichi didn't answer, the magician shifted to hold the other's shoulders and pushed him to arm's length. "Look at me."

The tone of his voice forbad argument and Shinichi obliged, blue eyes glimmering in the darkness of the room.

"Whatever you're thinking, it's not true—no, don't say anything. Everything is going to be all right, I promise. Now wipe that depressed look off your face and we can figure out what we want to tell that lot with the long noses downstairs."

Shinichi let out a quiet sigh then smiled. "Maybe we should just tell them the truth."

Kaito made a face. "Or we can tell them that that was my awesome new trick."

"We could," Shinichi agreed. "And then they'll start sneaking around trying to find out for themselves and getting all the wrong ideas."

"Really?"

The oracle snorted. "I don't need to be able to see into the future to know that much."

"I guess you do have a point there." The magician fell silent then, expression growing grim. "Are you sure you want to?"

Shinichi took a moment to really think about the question. There were so many reasons not to, and so many things that could go wrong, but maybe it wasn't just about the risks and whether they wanted them.

"No, I'm not sure," he admitted finally, turning to meet Kaito's gaze. "But I am sure that I don't want to spend the rest of my life hiding from everyone. I know you don't either. I'm not saying we should tell the world or anything," he added hastily. "That would be stupid. But maybe…" Maybe it should be different with friends.

Kaito didn't need to hear him say it to understand. In his opinion it still sounded a little too risky for comfort, but he wasn't the one who could see into the future. If Shinichi thought it was a good idea, maybe it would be. It was worth giving a chance. But he was still going to keep his eyes open. If there was even the slightest hint of trouble he was going to be ready.

X

The three guests in the living room were just beginning to feel uncomfortable with the waiting when they heard their hosts coming down the stairs. They looked up as one to see a slightly pale Shinichi take a seat on the other couch with Kaito.

"Are you…ill?" Ran asked tentatively. "You don't have to tell us or anything," she added quickly. "But you know, if we can help in any way, all you have to do is ask."

It was the honest concern in her voice more than anything else that convinced Shinichi this was the right choice to make. He cast another glance at Kaito before turning back to the three people seated on the couch opposite.

"I'm not sick," he started, not entirely sure where to begin.

"But Hakuba said you collapsed at school," Hattori pointed out with a puzzled frown.

"Well, you see…"

"We can explain," Kaito interjected, leaning forward in his seat. "But first you are all going to swear that you will never tell anyone what you hear. And believe me when I say, we'll know if you do."

The dark-skinned teen blinked. "Well that sounds kinda sinister."

Hakuba elbowed him hard in the side.

"Oi!" Hattori hissed angrily, rubbing at his bruised side. "What'd you do that for?"

The blonde rolled his eyes and muttered something back that the others couldn't hear. In no time at all the two were engaged in a quiet but vehement argument. Ran sighed, shaking her head at her two friends' antics.

"I won't tell anyone," she said earnestly, meeting each of their gazes in turn. "They won't either," she added as an afterthought, causing both boys to shut up and tune back in. She shot them a pointed look. "Right?"

The two detectives nodded in agreement (perhaps a tad more hesitantly, but not by too much).

Fifteen minutes later their expressions were considerably less serious and a great deal more incredulous.

"So you can really see the future?" Hattori asked for the fifth time. "Really?"

"Yes, to a degree," Shinichi said, again, fighting the urge to sigh. "Remember the incident at the amusement park? That was how I knew what was going to happen and how I knew where to find that man."

There was another moment of silence in the long series of such moments that had happened already.

Then the dark-skinned detective laughed. "No wonder you always ace your tests."

The comment had been joking but Shinichi flinched inwardly. Using his abilities for things like exams was something he tried very hard not to do. Kaito shot the grinning teen a glare but Hakuba had already driven his elbow into said teen's side.

"Ow! Oi, what is wrong with you today? Why do you keep doing that?"

The blonde ignored him, turning his own attention back to Shinichi. "I must admit this is hard to believe, but it would explain some things. However, it does not explain your…departure earlier today."

"Oh that." Kaito smirked and snapped his fingers. Instantly a plume of green fire erupted in the center of the living room. Ran clapped her hands over her mouth as Hattori leapt up and actually fell over the back of the couch. Hakuba himself jerked backward so fast that the couch rocked backwards before thumping back into place. Kaito laughed, indigo eyes twinkling with mirth. "Just call it magic."

At that pronouncement the green flames whirled together into a long, fiery dragon that soared around the room before bursting into a shower of tiny, star-shaped sparks that hung in the air all around them for several minutes before fading slowly away.

X

"Man I still can't believe this…" Hattori shook his head in bemusement as he, Ran, and Hakuba made their way along the street. "Real magic? Seeing into the future? It's like we've walked into some kind of novel!"

"It is pretty incredible," Ran agreed, casting one last glance back at the house they'd just left. And yet…somehow she wasn't really all that surprised. They had always given her the feeling that they were hiding something.

Walking beside her, Hakuba frowned. He still wasn't sure if he actually believed it all or not. True, there were several things that would suddenly make a lot more sense if it was, but still…

"Just give it some time," Ran advised.

Surprised, he turned to look at her. "What?"

She smiled faintly. "Just give it some time, I'm sure you'll get used to the idea eventually."

X

"Finally!" Kaito heaved an exaggerated sigh and dragged Shinichi onto his lap.

"It wasn't that bad."

"No, I suppose not, but you have to admit they were starting to sound a bit like broken records. Really? Really? Really?"

Shinichi laughed, turning his face into the magician's shoulder.


	10. Rising Shadows

It was the same vision. Over and over again, day after day, night after night. He had never had the same vision so many times before. And he still had no idea what it was trying to tell him. All he knew for sure was that it always left him feeling sick with dread.

Shaking the ominous thoughts from his mind, he turned his attention back to the heaping piles of, well, everything imaginable really that he was currently browsing through. Their project group was meeting again later that day and he and Kaito had decided to go look around for supplies beforehand. Kaito had gone to the arts and crafts store and Shinichi had opted to go search the thrift shop. Their group had decided to dress their parts, so they would need costumes.

So far he hadn't seen anything he thought would be particularly useful though.

Frowning, he moved on to the next batch of random stuff. This place was one horrible mess. The sooner he got out of here, the better.

"Shinichi?"

Startled, he straightened and turned to see Ran standing a few feet behind him. Sonoko was a little farther back, flipping quickly and expertly through a rack of various old garments.

The oracle blinked then laughed, scratching at his cheek. "I guess we had the same idea."

"Looks like it," Ran agreed with her own smile. "So, no luck I take it?"

Shinichi sighed at that. "Afraid not. I—"

He cut himself off abruptly as he felt a chill race up his spine. They were being watched.

"Is something wrong?"

"What? Oh, no, nothing," he said absently as he took a covert look around them at the rest of the shop then out the window to the street beyond. There were five of them. Two men and a woman had actually come into the store earlier. He hadn't thought much of them then but now he could see them casting looks in his and Ran's direction. Looks he didn't like. The last two were hanging around on the other side of the street, sitting outside the Italian restaurant there like they'd just stopped by for a quick rest. "You know what? I don't think we're going to find anything useful here. Why don't we head back?"

Sonoko straightened from her investigation of odd clothes to frown at him. "No way! We just started looking. If you give up that fast we'll never find anything."

"But the others could be waiting for us," he pointed out.

"Even more reason not to go back empty handed."

"But…" Shinichi trailed off, trying to come up with a good reason to leave that the girl wouldn't be able to rebut.

"Um, Shinichi,," Ran piped up, sounding somewhere between confused and concerned. "Do you know those people?"

The oracle followed her gaze to see the three watchers in the shop making their way through the piles of stuff towards them. They weren't moving very quickly but the fact that they were getting closer set Shinichi's nerves on edge.

"We have to go," he hissed at the two girls and was gratified when Ran didn't ask questions. Instead she took Sonoko by the arm and hauled her towards the door against her confused protests.

Trying to look like nothing more unusual than two teenagers pulling their shopping-obsessed friend away before she could get too into it, Shinichi held the door open as Ran herded the other girl through it. As soon as the door swung shut, he began to talk quickly, keeping his voice low and his head angled so that neither watching party would be able to see his face.

"You have to leave—go to our place. Kaito should be home by now."

"Why?" Sonoko demanded, finally wrenching her arm out of Ran's grasp and beginning to straighten out her clothes. "Honestly, what's the matter with you guys?"

"Those people—aren't friendly," Shinichi tried to explain as best he could when he didn't really know what was happening either other than that the watchers weren't friendly. Trying to explain how he knew this would probably just make her think he was crazy.

A thoughtful look crossed Ran's face as a hint of understanding crept into her eyes. "But who are they? What do they want?"

"I'm not sure what they want but they'll follow me. I'm not leading them back to my home. Now go!"

"I'll stay too then," she declared then before turning to Sonoko. The shorter girl snorted but she spun on her heels and bolted.

At her sudden departure the watchers across the street stood up. The shop door opened right behind them at almost the same time. Shinichi grabbed Ran's arm and bolted in the opposite direction from the one Sonoko had taken.

X

Shinichi hadn't come home yet. He'd been gone for far too long for someone who was only supposed to be picking up project materials. Kaito had done the same thing at the crafts store and he'd been home for nearly an hour already.

The doorbell rang and the magician darted into the hall and yanked open the door. He was disappointed to see Hakuba and Hattori on the other side, but he supposed he should have expected that. Shinichi wouldn't have needed to ring the doorbell.

"Is Ran here?" Hakuba asked, glancing down at the single pair of shoes by the door. "I guess not."

Kaito frowned. "Wasn't she coming with you?"

"She was, but then she said she and Sonoko would run down to that thrift store by the local supermarket to see if they could find anything we could use for the costumes," Hattori explained. "They didn't come back when they said they would so we thought maybe they came here without us. You know, so they wouldn't have to lug everything around."

Indigo eyes narrowed. "Shinichi went to do the same thing. He hasn't come back either."

There was a beat of silence before Hattori let out a strained laugh. "Maybe they hit the jackpot or something. I mean, what could possibly happen to them in a thrift shop? It's Sonoko! You know she's the king, the queen, and the court of all shopaholics."

"I've been there. It's barely more than thirty square feet in size," Hakuba said dryly. "We should go look for them."

"Better run if we want to keep up," Hattori replied, pointing to where Kaito was already almost out of sight.

They never reached the store however.

Only two blocks from the house Sonoko came dashing around a corner and nearly ran right into Kaito. The magician was faster though and he caught her before she could run smack into him.

"You!" she exclaimed the moment she saw him. Her words were broken and raspy as she tried to talk and pant for breath at the same time. "There's like these five weird people by the thrift store. He kept saying we had to go for some reason and that they were going to follow him and Ran. He said to come tell you. What the hell is going on? Are you guys in some kind of trouble or something? Because if you are, you should've told us!"

At that point Kaito tuned her out and picked up his pace.

"Hey!" she yelled after him in indignation.

"Just go home, all right?" Hattori said as he and Hakuba caught up to her. "We'll do the project some other day." And they were off too.

Sonoko gaped after them before her mouth snapped shut and she stamped her foot. "Ugh, way to say thanks!" she shouted after them. Then she whirled on her heel and stormed off.

X

Kaito was not pleased. They had combed the area around the thrift shop for hours but found no sign of either Shinichi or Ran. The handful of people they'd questioned who actually remembered seeing the two didn't know much more than that they had passed by. A part of him wanted nothing more than to go running off all over the city, but the rest of him knew that would be pointless. So instead he was now pacing back and forth in the living room, hoping his mother wouldn't be back too soon.

"It's too bad Shinichi's not here," Hattori muttered, staring at the empty coffee table where they had all been working not all that long ago. "He could use his powers to tell us where he is."

"What exactly was the point of that statement?" Hakuba asked dryly.

The other boy glared. "Can't I just be voicing my thoughts?"

"I see. I did not realize your thoughts were so…"

Green eyes narrowed. "What?"

"Nothing."

"Like hell it was nothing!" he retorted. "What were you going to say?"

Kaito gritted his teeth as he listened to the two bicker. Usually he found their antics amusing, but right now it was grating on his nerves and he was going to tape their mouths shut if they didn't shut up soon.

Breathe, he reminded himself. You have to control your emotions, his father had always said. Magic was both fueled and shaped by emotions. According to his father, if you weren't careful—got carried away—well, you wanted to control your magic, not the other way around.

"Um, hey," Hattori said suddenly, his tone changing abruptly from outraged to wary. "There's this really sinister looking black car parking on your driveway…"

Hakuba turned to follow his gaze as Kaito moved to stand by the window. There was indeed a night black car pulling up outside. Not only was it black, but its back windows were tinted. The whole thing gleamed like it was brand new.

The three teens watched as one of the car's back doors opened and a single person stepped out. Kaito recognized the young, blond woman now making her way up to their door.

"Wait here," he ordered before going to answer the door. Behind him, Hakuba and Hattori traded looks. The latter shrugged and they both sat down on the couch. The murmur of voices from the hallway reached their ears before Kaito returned accompanied by the blonde they'd seen only moments ago. She paused for a moment when she saw them, her gaze sharp and impassive. Being under that gaze felt like being under a microscope in all the most uncomfortable ways.

"This is Heiji Hattori and Saguru Hakuba," the magician introduced. "Guys, this is Shiho. She's an old acquaintance."

"It's nice to meet you," the detectives said politely, to which the young woman only nodded.

Her ice blue gaze returned to Kaito. "You want to talk here?"

He shrugged, his smile an odd mixture of sharp and sardonic. "Might as well. These two here are detectives, you know."

She shot the two seated teens another look then apparently decided to ignore them for the time being. "I'll get to the point then. Our database was hacked last week. Someone accessed the Wraith files."

Kaito stiffened. "Why didn't you tell us sooner?" he demanded.

Shiho looked away, guilt clear in her eyes if not on her face. "We—did not wish to cause unnecessary panic."

"Oh yes, very unnecessary," the magician said sarcastically. "Do you know what happened earlier today? Shinichi's disappeared along with one of our classmates."

Her gaze snapped back to his. "What?"

It was Hakuba who answered. "He and our friend Ran Mouri were visiting one of the local shops. Now we cannot find either of them. Ran is not picking up her phone. In addition, our other friend who was with them told us that they were being followed."

"I see." She fell silent for a long moment then sighed. "How much do you two know?"

They stared at her blankly. "About what?"

"They know what we are," Kaito supplied, taking a seat. "But we didn't tell them anything else."

Her breath left her in what sounded like an irritated sigh. "I suppose I'll start from the beginning then. I'll try to make this brief."


	11. Sea of Fire

Neither detective was sure exactly how they should be feeling or what they should be thinking anymore. What had begun as a strange story had rapidly become ten times weirder and several shades darker than either of them had expected. It was a cold shock to think that their classmates had actually lived the last decade of their lives like—like that. It made Hattori wonder how they could go about their days so…so normally. He had thought at first that the two's hesitation regarding telling them about their abilities was a fear of being thought crazy, now he couldn't understand how they had found it in themselves to trust any of them enough to say even as much as they had. It was a sobering realization.

"So these hackers," Hakuba began, his own expression grim. "What exactly might they have seen that might cause them to come here? Presuming of course that it is indeed these hackers who are responsible for Ran and Shinichi's disappearance."

"The Wraith was originally established by people interested in the study and exploitation of the paranormal," Shiho replied. "Most of their criminal activities were, I believe, a method of funding the research they were really interested in. In the course of this research, they appropriated several artifacts, mostly through…less than friendly means. The hackers in question are a group my associates and I have been tracking. They seem mostly interested in getting their hands on antiques and artifacts that can be sold for large sums of money to private collectors through either legal or illegal channels."

"So there's something this organization had that they want," Hattori surmised.

The girl nodded. "Most of what the Wraith had was confiscated when they were caught. They are now back where they belong, or at least in safe hands. There was, however, one artifact which, due to its location at the time, was unable to be retrieved. I believe it is this object that they are looking for. It is a chest that was said to contain a great treasure, but none of the researches were able to open it so no one's sure what that treasure is."

"But if no one can open it, what use is it to these people?" Hakuba inquired.

Shiho gave him a look that suggested she thought the answer should be obvious. "The chest itself is an antique. I believe it was crafted by an artist rumored to have unusual powers some six hundred and fifty years ago yet it is still in almost perfect condition. It was his last creation and they say he died the day it was done. He was found lying beside it, his tools still in his hands."

"That's…" Hattori trailed off, not sure what to say. It sounded a bit morbid to him, but some people did seem to like things that had creepy stories attached to them.

"Our files, however, did not include the location of the island where the chest was being kept. I assume that is why they came here."

"So they took Shinichi to help them find it," Kaito said flatly.

"I believe so."

"But how are we supposed to find it?" Hattori demanded.

The blond girl shot him an irritated look. "I know where it is most likely to be. There were two main facilities being used by the organization. One was the one the magician knows. The other was very small and predominantly a research center. That, I believe, is where the artifact was being studied. However, the island where it is located is under water for several months each year during which all human life had to be evacuated. It should be back on the surface now, but it never stays for more than a month at a time."

X

There turned out to be six of them. A couple of them stood and sat around the cabin of the medium sized boat they had had prepared. The rest were walking around on deck, preparing the ship for departure. Shinichi watched them all warily.

"Man that damned girl broke my arm!" one of the men was complaining.

"Shut up," the woman who was tending to said broken arm snapped as she jerked the bandaging around the splint tighter, eliciting a yelp of pain. "It was your own damned fault for being careless."

"It was an unarmed, teenage girl! How was I supposed to know she was some kind of karate expert?"

"Keep yapping and you can make your own sling."

The injured man shut up, shooting a glare across the cabin at the two teens in the corner.

Shinichi too looked to the seat beside him where Ran was still unconscious. She had been hit on the head pretty hard and she had yet to show any signs of waking up. He knew she wasn't actually too badly hurt though, so he wasn't particularly worried. What did worry him was the fact that he could feel the boat beginning to hum under their feet. They would be ready to set sail soon.

He shifted in his seat, testing the ropes tying his hands to the seat behind him. They were, unfortunately, very well secured.

The man that the oracle had pegged as the leader walked into the cabin just then and made his way up to the person who'd been assigned the job of keeping watch on the prisoners. His gray eyes met Shinichi's briefly before he focused on his own subordinate.

"I see he's awake. What about the girl?"

"Still out like a light."

The leader nodded and moved to stand in front of Shinichi. "You can call me Maurice. I brought you here because I heard you can help us find what we want. If you cooperate with us, no one will get hurt."

Shinichi remained silent.

Maurice waited a second longer then shrugged and continued. "We are looking for a certain island they say is under water for most of the year. It was owned by some friends of yours—"

"They were not my friends," Shinichi snapped despite himself. The mere suggestion made his insides twist in disgust.

"Fair enough," the man agreed amiably. "Then you should have no reservations in regards to telling us where it is."

"Greed never did anyone any good," Shinichi stated. "You should be careful."

Both the leader and the guard stared at him. It was the former who broke the silence.

"Interesting. What makes you think that we are being greedy?"

"Isn't that what they call people who pursue wealth at the cost of all other things?"

"And when did I say we were after wealth?"

Realizing his mistake, Shinichi clamped his mouth shut.

The guard whistled. "Well, he certainly knows more than he should. So do you really know what's going to happen in the future too?"

The oracle didn't answer.

Undeterred, the guard continued. "If I could see the future, I'd go win myself the lottery," he laughed, waving a piece of paper at Shinichi. "Hey, what do you say kid? Care to give it a try?"

"No," Shinichi said flatly, glaring at the man.

He actually took an involuntary step back.

The leader on the other hand only smiled. "This is very interesting. To think that human beings can really have such abilities… I must admit I had my doubts. But I guess it will be proof enough if you can guide us to hour goal."

"I'm not telling you anything."

"Really? So I take it you don't care what happens to your friend here."

Shinichi followed the man's gaze to Ran and scowled. These people… They were just like the Wraith, he thought angrily.

"I see you understand. Well then, all we need to hear from you is the directions. We know at least that this place should be somewhere that can be reached within five days. So if we don't get there by then, I will assume what you said earlier was just a lucky guess, and that you two are of no use to us."

"You won't get away with it," Shinichi told him.

The man scoffed, but there was something about the absolute certainty in the boy's blue eyes that made him feel uneasy all of a sudden.

X

"I still believe we should have waited for backup."

"I know," Heiji said with a grimace. "I can't believe that blond girl and her buddies are okay with us going ahead." He closed his eyes, recalling the moment when the blond girl had left.

"You're not going to wait for us, are you?"

"I can't."

She nodded in understanding. "We'll be there as soon as we can then."

"All right. You know, I didn't realize you would end up working with them permanently."

Shiho had shrugged at the slightly teasing tone in his voice. "Don't do anything stupid."

And here they were on a boat they had borrowed from a family that he and Hakuba had once solved a missing persons case for, following the map given them by Shiho. The thing was that the engines weren't running but they were still racing through the water in an arrow straight line at speeds that he knew a boat this size shouldn't be able to reach. It was disconcerting but they had already had to wait a day and a half.

"I believe it is because they know they can't stop him," Hakuba replied, glancing pointedly in Kaito's direction.

Heiji followed his gaze and nodded, suppressing a shiver. The magician was still smiling, but it was the kind of smile that brought to mind sharp teeth and fins. "You're probably right."

"This is a bad idea."

"Do you have to keep saying that? We've already agreed it's true."

"I'm sorry. I am simply having a difficult time believing that we are here regardless of how bad an idea we, for once, both agree this is."

Heiji cracked a smile at that. "Oh come on, you're just as worried about Ran as he is about Shinichi. And they're both my friends so I'm not gonna sit around and do nothing either. We just gotta remember to be careful. And maybe if we're lucky, backup will arrive the same time we do. Besides, we've got him on our side," he added, jerking a thumb in Kaito's direction. "I know I wouldn't want to be them when he catches up with 'em."

"Indeed. I wonder if that should concern us."

X

Ran wasn't sure if she was scared or not. She had been for the first few days when she'd woken up to find that she'd been kidnapped along with one of her new friends. But by now she was just kind of tired of being scared. Shinichi wasn't scared either. Although he hadn't been sleeping well either. He had dark circles under his eyes and he had grown a lot paler. She wondered if that meant something.

She just wished that there was something she could do.

Their captors ignored them for the most part. It wasn't like they could do much here out on the open sea. There was water in every direction when she looked out the cabin windows.

"I'm sorry you got dragged into this," Shinichi told her one evening after they had taken turns eating under the watchful eyes of two of their captors.

"It's not your fault," she'd whispered back though she could see from his expression that he thought she was wrong.

When the island appeared on the horizon, Ran thought that this might be their chance to get away. If they could get out of their bonds while the treasure hunters were off searching for their goal, they could take the boat and leave their captors behind. They didn't know anything about boats, but surely it couldn't be too hard to figure out, and Shinichi would be able to guide them back.

She watched in mixed anticipation and anxiety as the treasure hunters armed themselves for departure. She hadn't realized they all had guns. To think that all those weapons had been lying right there in that crate… It was rather unpleasant.

Her plans were dashed however when two of the treasure hunters came to herd her and Shinichi off the boat with the rest of them. A single man was left to watch the boat.

"Stay close," Shinichi whispered to her as they were marched down the gangway onto shore. There was an intent look in his eyes that put Ran on alert.

"Is something going to happen?" she asked quietly when she was sure they wouldn't be heard.

"Something," he agreed, a frown flickering briefly across his features. "I'm not sure what yet, but we should be ready."

The island was a rugged, rocky place with forests of boulders but very little in the way of actual vegetation. Amidst all the rock formations, it wasn't all that hard to spot the shine of sunlight on metal. It was a door set into hard ground. It had no visible handles or locking mechanisms. The treasure hunters spent some time examining it before one of them unearthed what looked like a panel of buttons hidden inside a crevice in a nearby boulder.

It was like watching some kind of movie, Ran thought as she watched them hooking up a strange sort of device to the panel. She could only assume they were finding a way around the lock.

Beside her, Shinichi seemed more interested in looking off towards the horizon. She couldn't tell what he was looking at. For all she knew, it was literally only something he could see.

A hiss and a loud squeal drew her attention back to where the metal door had been lifted, revealing a staircase descending into the darkness. A billow of cold, stale air wafted up and out of the opening, making almost everyone gag. It certainly smelled like it hadn't been open in a long time.

One man was sent down as a scout ahead. He returned with a wide grin on his face.

"Man it's like a science fiction movie down there," he exclaimed as soon as his head rose back above ground level. "You have got to see this."

Maurice and the others hefted their equipment and started down after him, leaving only the two who were watching the captives.

Ran had no idea how long they waited. Overhead the sun crawled across the sky. It was hot and uncomfortable, but she knew better than to complain. And through it all Shinichi sat perfectly still, his eyes fixed on that empty spot on the horizon.

X

If Hakuba had had any doubts about the existence of magic and the strange things he'd seen that day he'd been told it existed before, those doubts had long since died—drowned in a rush of white spray and sea salt. Their boat had cleaved straight through the ocean as though the waves and the wind meant nothing to it. Or perhaps it would be more accurate to say that the water seemed to be propelling them with the same single-minded determination that he could see in the figure of the magician seated at the prow. Their speed only marginally diminished during those short few hours each night when Kaito rested.

"He's starting to creep me out," Hattori muttered over breakfast one morning. He had handed Kaito his share of the food and retreated to join Hakuba while they ate. "I wish he'd at least stop smiling."

"I know what you mean," Hakuba replied. He wondered briefly why they both felt the need to whisper—like they were trying not to wake something dangerous. Then again, maybe that was exactly what it was. He hoped they got where they were going soon, and he hoped that when they got there they found what they were looking for, because he really did not want to find out what would happen if they didn't.

He could understand the fear of losing someone. He had people he cared for too after all. And Ran was with those people… Ran, whom they might very easily decide was unnecessary to their cause.

Even so he couldn't understand the darkness he saw in the magician's eyes. There was more than the fear of losing a loved one there, he thought. If he had to make a comparison, he might have likened it more to the fear of dying. Only it wasn't.

He couldn't describe it, but it made him uneasy. Hattori too was growing more and more restless by the day.

Their prayers were answered when the peak of a wave in the distance didn't sink. Instead it grew darker and larger until they could all see that it was an island. Not a big one, but definitely an island.

Hattori scrambled to get a pair of binoculars out of their supplies. Bringing them up to his face, he trained his gaze on the rapidly approaching island. "I see a boat! About three times as big as ours. Looks empty though."

"Hang on tight," Kaito instructed from the prow. Both detectives immediately latched onto the nearest stationary fixture. A moment later their boat sped up, careening to the right to cut a curving path through the water. The waves to either side of the heaved higher than they had a moment ago as though to hide their presence.

They came to a stop amidst a rocky shore so close to a myriad of half submerged boulders that Hakuba wouldn't have been surprised if they crashed. They didn't, of course. The water around them was doing only what Kaito wanted it to after all.

"We should check the boat first and work our way in from there," Hakuba said as they disembarked. "That way we won't miss them."

The others nodded.

"Be careful," Kaito said quietly. "They may be armed." That said he turned and began picking his way along the shore towards the boat they'd seen from the sea.

The detectives traded uneasy looks then followed.

They found the boat in question drifting silent and empty by another stretch of shore. The detectives moved instinctively to check inside the boat while Kaito headed for the rocky ridges. They were only halfway to their respective destinations when a man emerged from a cluster of boulders, straightening out his clothes with one hand as a revolver dangled from the other. Everything froze for a moment when he looked up.

"Stop right there!" he bellowed, raising his gun and letting loose what was probably supposed to be a warning shot. No one wanted to find out for sure.

Hakuba lunged, grabbing the man's arm and forcing it up just as he pulled the trigger. Neither of them were braced properly and the force of the recoil sent them over backwards. The blonde cracked his head against one of the many boulders strewn around the area and lay still. The other man scrambled to his feet and bolted. Kaito gave chase.

"Hakuba!" Leaping over the gun the fleeing treasure hunter had dropped, Hattori fell to his knees beside his unmoving fellow detective. Cursing, he checked the back of Hakuba's head. There was a nasty bump there but nothing too serious. Satisfied that he would be okay, Hattori leapt back to his feet and turned in direction Kaito had gone in where he could hear a commotion brewing.

X

"We've been found!"

Shinichi tensed as the treasure hunters turned as one at the cry from where they had been examining the handful of objects they'd brought up from below before they transported them back to the ship. Then the man who'd been on boat guard duty came skidding into the clearing. He didn't get far however. All the treasure hunters and Ran stared in shock as the man rose into the air. His feet were still moving like he was running but it was useless. His eyes widened in shock and he began to flail. It didn't help.

"What the hell—!" someone gasped.

"Ran!" Shinichi hissed under his breath. "Get ready to run."

"What—"

The boat guard shrieked as he was abruptly hurled forward straight into the man and woman who'd been set in charge of watching the captives.

"Now!" Shinichi bolted, followed closely by Ran.

The treasure hunters barely even noticed however. They were far more concerned with the wild-haired teen who had just vaulted a boulder into the clearing. They could all see that his eyes were glowing.

"S—stay back and don't move!" the leader shouted in an almost hysterical voice, finger jerking convulsively on the trigger of his gun.

Several wild shots rang out and Shinichi threw himself sideways into Ran, knocking her down as one of the bullets whizzed through the air where her head had been. The second one however went through her arm and the third caught him in the shoulder. They both hit the ground hard.

"You bastard!" Hattori, who had appeared right behind Kaito, roared, but he was forced to duck back behind the boulders he'd just rounded as another shot came for his face. He cursed, glancing back down to the shore behind him to where Hakuba was still out cold.

At the same time Kaito made to approach Shinichi but a bullet ricocheting off the ground at his feet brought him up short.

"I said don't move!" the leader snarled, apparently having recovered from his initial fear of the stranger with the glowing eyes. "Or do you want to be next?"

Okay. That was it. Kaito snapped. He rounded on the small band backing away from him. He had had enough. He was sick and tired of everyone trying to use them. He hated how it seemed like they were all trying to take the people he cared about away from him. All he'd ever wanted was to be left in peace with Shinichi and his mom to finally live their lives like they were supposed to have been able to all along. But no, the whole damned world was hell bent for some reason on ruining everything. And at this point he was ready to bet that as soon as they got rid of this lot there'd be another one waiting somewhere in the future with no respect for anything. Wasn't the last time enough for one lifetime? The air crackled.

From his hiding spot behind the boulders, Hattori had no idea what was going on. One moment he was trying to come up with a plan, the next it was like a bomb had exploded. For an instant he couldn't see anything but light. He couldn't breathe. His ears roared and every inch of his body seemed to be being crushed by some incredible weight.

The next moment he was lying face down on the rocky ground, Hakuba's shoe an inch from his nose and his head still spinning. Groaning, he rolled over onto his back and stared up at a sky that had turned into a whirl of what looked like fire and lightning. And all he could do was stare in openmouthed shock.

X

Shinichi could feel the blood soaking into his clothes but he couldn't seem to feel any pain. It would probably kick in eventually, he thought, but it wasn't important right now. What was important was the power he could feel pulsing through the air, making the hairs on the back of his neck stand on end.

Forcing his eyes open, he found himself looking through a red and gold haze. For a moment he couldn't comprehend what he was seeing. It was almost like he'd been transported to another world.

The power he had only felt earlier was actually visible. It hung like a fog over the ground and crackled as though there was an electric current running through it. The sky was black but it didn't look like there were any clouds. Streaks of fire snaked across it as though they were alive. His horrified eyes searched frantically for the others. All he saw were a handful of dark, vaguely humanoid lumps lying sprawled on the trembling earth. The boulders that had been shielding Hattori and Hakuba had shattered and he could make out both detectives lying prone in the rubble. In fact, most of the islands rocky features had been completely flattened. On the other side the treasure hunters had similarly been knocked off their feet. He couldn't tell if they were breathing. Their pile of loot had similarly been obliterated—all but for the small, rosewood chest anyway. There was only one person still on his feet.

And he realized suddenly exactly why those visions had filled him with such a sense of horror—why he had never been able to understand what they were saying. Never wanted to understand. Because at the heart of all the fire and destruction was Kaito himself.


	12. Horizons

He knew he wasn't thinking straight, but he couldn't seem to care. All he could feel was a cold, hot rage at everything—the things he hadn't been able to control, the things that couldn't be changed, and the things that he could imagine which were probably the worst of all.

Right now he wasn't seeing the leader of the treasure hunters who had the misfortune to be right before him, or even the faces from his past, but all of them and the faces he did not yet know.

"You," he snarled, indigo eyes blazing with an inhuman light. "I am going to make you regret that you were ever born."

The man made to run, abandoning both his weapon and his men, but the ground before his feet shifted and cracked and he tripped, landing face first on the hard earth. Terror had him scrambling to get back to his feet but the ground itself seemed to have decided to act against him. It shifted and slid wherever he touched it so that all he managed to do was turn over onto his back. From there he had an unobstructed view of the teenager looking down at him from a few yards away.

"So you want treasure, do you?" As he spoke, Kaito's gaze flickered to the treasure chest which obediently rose into the air. It sailed to however over the leader who redoubled his efforts to flee with little success.

"Why are you running? Isn't this what you wanted?"

The man whimpered in terror. "N—no, wait, sta—stay away—" He broke off in a strangled scream of pain as the chest dropped onto his right hand much harder than its size and weight should have allowed. There was a sickening, dull crunch as blood seeped out from beneath the wood to creep across the earth.

Shinichi blanched, turning his head away.

The ropes securing his hands had all but dissolved in the power surge. Using his hands, he levered himself up, ignoring the pain that shot through his right arm and side. The air was so thick with energy that it seemed to actually have weight. It felt as though he was trying to walk against a strong current.

The magician stiffened as his ears caught the sound of movement from behind. He turned quickly, eyes narrowing only to widen again as he saw who it was. The sight of those familiar, blue eyes sent a shock through him, momentarily dispelling the haze of anger that had been the only thing he could think about. He reached out automatically to catch the oracle as he half ran into half fell against him. His eyes fell immediately to where his hand encountered something warm and wet.

It was blood. Shinichi's blood. The rage welled up again and the air hummed and cracked, but he was distracted as a hand gripped the front of his shirt.

"Stop it," Shinichi pleaded, staring into the magician's face. The anguish he saw there made his throat feel dry and his stomach feel like it was full of lead. "Don't do this. This isn't who you are. Please Kai… I don't want you to change because of me, of this—of anything."

Indigo eyes blinked slowly and finally came to focus on his face. And it seemed as though they were really seeing him again for the first time since this whole fiasco had begun back in the city they now called home. "Shi—Shinichi, I…"

The oracle smiled faintly, relieved. "We made a promise, remember? Everything is going to be okay…"

He did remember. Of course he remembered. But him remembering and the rest of the world going along with it were two entirely different things. If it weren't, they wouldn't be here now.

"You have to believe it, Kai," the oracle insisted. "No matter what happens, no matter what other people think, we have to believe it, because we're the only ones who can."

X

When the backup arrived, it was to find a barren, broken island, a handful of teenagers with varying degrees of injuries, and the treasure hunters scared witless and babbling about demons. Hattori, who was the only person who was both conscious and willing to talk (and make sense), gave them the story as they marched the treasure hunters away and inspected both boats to be loaded onto their much larger ship. Then the teens were taken to the ship's doctor who set about patching them up before he set off to deal with the prisoners' injuries.

Left alone for the time being, Heiji sat on a chair between the beds where Hakuba and Ran had been placed. There was another empty one across the ways which he was supposed to be resting in, but right now he couldn't make himself close his eyes, let alone sleep. He couldn't think either though—didn't know what he was supposed to be thinking really. So here he was, staring blankly at each of his friends in turn, his mind feeling like a jumbled blank (as little sense as that made).

Every now and then he'd sneak a look at the last bed in the room where the last two members of their little party were curled up together. He could see that Kaito was awake, but the magician hadn't said a word since—since whatever it was had stopped except to ask the doctor about Shinichi's injury. He wouldn't let go of the other either. Like someone hanging on to an anchor, Heiji thought. Shinichi himself was fast asleep, though it seemed to the dark-skinned detective that he seemed to have shifted closer to his companion at some point since the last time he'd dared look at them (dared because it felt a little like he was intruding. They looked like they needed some time alone). He hoped they would be all right.

And he hoped that when everything was over they didn't think that this was just what the world was like.

It was Shiho who found the little, rosewood chest with its fresh bloodstains and otherwise unmarked surface. She picked it up and made her way quickly to the other side of the small island where she tossed it into the sea. It hit the surf with a splash and sank like a stone, leaving no trace behind that it had ever been.

X

It felt strange to be back at school again, Ran thought. As though everything that had happened had only been a dream. Or maybe like she was dreaming now, although she hoped that wasn't the case.

"There's a dance next Friday," Sonoko announced as she came bustling up to them. "I'm part of the organizing committee, so of course you're all coming."

"How come you never say please?" Hattori asked, shaking his head at her from where he was half slumped in his seat. "It wouldn't kill you to be polite now and then."

"No point wasting manners on people who don't have them," the girl shot back, shoving a flyer into his face. "Besides, you should be thanking me."

"What?" he spluttered. "Why?"

"Because this is a great opportunity for you to finally ask Kazuha out before the semester ends, of course," she answered smugly. "It's going to be fairytale themed so it's perfect for people like you."

"…People like me?" he repeated. "What's that supposed to mean?"

Sonoko rolled her eyes. "Aren't you a detective? Figure it out." Deciding she was tired of talking to him, she turned her attention to the rest of the people scattered around her as yet unclaimed seat. She paused, counting heads. "Hey, where's Shinichi? And Ran, what happened to your arm?"

They all fell abruptly silent and she frowned. "What's going on with you all?"

"It's nothing serious," Ran replied.

"And Shinichi?"

"He's in the hospital," she said quietly, casting a sidelong look at Kaito. "There was…an accident over the weekend. It's why we've been absent the last couple days."

"Oh." Sonoko took another long look around at her friends. She could tell from their faces that they weren't telling her everything, but that was all right. With the kinds of trouble she'd seen them get into before, she probably didn't want to know. She didn't, however, like the gloomy atmosphere. "Well, you can give him a flyer then," she declared, shoving two of said flyers into Kaito's hands. "If either of you need help finding dates, just let me know. Or if you want to come together, that's fine too," she added as an afterthought before turning back to Ran. "Anyway, Aoko was supposed to arrange for the food, and she wanted me to ask you if you'd be willing to help with some of that."

Kaito tuned out the rest of the conversation. Shinichi had been in the hospital since they had gotten back. They had had to remove the bullet since it hadn't gone cleanly through but the doctors all assured them that it wasn't serious. They just wanted him to stay a few days to be sure. Kaito would have rather stayed with him than come to school, but the oracle insisted that he go to class and his mother had agreed. She wasn't particularly happy with them, but when all was said and done she was just glad they were home. So here he was, wandering the streets with his hands in his pockets as he meandered his way from the school campus towards the hospital.

Shiho had informed them that all of his and Shinichi's 'special' information had been wiped from the government database. So that at least was a weight off his chest. But what really bothered him now was the memory of his own behavior. It made him feel a little sick just to think about it.

The sparkle of sunlight drew his gaze to the open doors of a nearby shop. It looked like some kind of jewelry and ornament store. A young woman had set up a table right outside it with what a sign proclaimed her some special, new pieces currently on promotion.

He drifted over for a closer look. Large, padded trays had been set out on the table, each lined neatly with trinkets of varying shapes and colors. They were all rather shiny.

"Good afternoon," the girl behind the table said brightly. "Are you looking for something in particular?"

"Not really," he replied, gently picking up a small, rose-shaped pendant. The rose was both his mother and his father's favorite flower.

"That's one of my favorites," the girl told him, smiling. "You're supposed to give it to the person you love."

That was interesting. He didn't know there were particular people you were supposed to give these types of things to.

"What does it do?" he asked curiously.

She blinked at him in confusion. "Do?"

"You did say you are supposed to give it to someone you love. Does it do something for them?"

"Uh…I guess it tells them how you feel…?"

"And if they already know?"

"Um, it's just, you know, a gift. It's just the artist who designed these based all the designs off symbols related to love, so…"

"Ah, I see."

The young woman was left staring after the rather odd customer, wondering what in the world that had been about.

X

"I brought you your homework," he announced as he stepped into Shinichi's hospital room. He was rather amused at the relieved look that crossed the oracle's face.

"Oh good. You have no idea how bored I've been."

"Only you would find this stuff interesting," he replied, setting the folder down on the bedside table.

"Learning is supposed to be interesting."

"I suppose." Pulling up a chair, Kaito plopped down into it, dropping his backpack by his feet.

"What's that?" Shinichi asked curiously.

Kaito followed his gaze to where the corner of Sonoko's flyer was sticking out of his backpack. He pulled it out and handed it to the oracle who examined it with interest.

"So this is some kind of celebration?" he inquired.

"I'm not sure," Kaito admitted, leaning over to peer at the flyer as well. "I didn't actually look at this yet either. Although from what Sonoko was saying I gather you're supposed to attend these things in pairs."

Shinichi looked up from the flyer to study the magician's face through narrowed eyes. "Kaito…"

"What?" the magician asked, raising an eyebrow quizzically.

Shinichi's frown deepened. "Let it go. Everyone gets upset and everyone does things they regret."

"I guess now I know why Tou-san was always going on and on about how people like us need to know how to control our emotions." He laughed, the sound more than a little bitter. "It's not a nice thing to know about yourself, Shin-chan."

"But you can't change what's already happened. The important thing when we make mistakes is to learn and remember so that we don't make them again." He let out a quiet sigh, leaning back against the pillows piled behind him. "I'm sorry too. Sometimes I feel like the most important visions never make sense until it's too late to do anything about them."

Kaito finally cracked a more genuine smile. "That might not be a bad thing. What fun would life be if you always knew what was coming?"

Their eyes met, a silent agreement passing between them before Shinichi picked up the flyer again. "It doesn't say what occasion they're celebrating."

"Maybe they're not celebrating anything. It could just be something they do," Kaito reasoned. "You know, a high school thing."

The oracle considered this for a moment then nodded. "That's true. Let's go then."

"Are you sure? There's probably going to be a lot of people."

"But you'll be there," Shinichi pointed out, smiling faintly. And as long as Kaito was there, everything would be okay. No matter what happened in the future or how many times they had to pick themselves up out of the darkness, they would make it as long as they were together. Because they had made a promise, to themselves and to each other.

The magician's eyes softened then lit up as he remembered something. "I got you something on my way here."

Shinichi watched with curious eyes as Kaito fished a small, blue box out of his jacket pocket and handed it to him. The lid rose to reveal a small, glass pendant on a silver chain.

"It's very well made," he noted, holding it up to the light and watching the way the fog-tinted petals seemed to catch the beams and glow. It was fascinating how such brittle material could be made to look so soft. "Thank you."

The magician smiled. "The lady I got it from said it's supposed to be given to the person you love."

"Really? So then what does it do?"

Kaito laughed. "You know, I asked her the same thing."


	13. Epilogue

Shinichi sat at one of the long, banquet tables that had been set up on one side of the school's assembly room, feeling somewhere between awkward and disappointed. The awkwardness came from the fact that everyone else in the room seemed to be wearing odd costumes. He'd heard something about a theme, but he hadn't realized that meant that extended to what you were supposed to wear. So naturally he and Kaito stuck out like sore thumbs. The magician didn't care, but Shinichi couldn't help but feel like they had made some kind of mistake. As for the disappointment…

Well, he hadn't known what to expect when they'd come, but this wasn't really it. There was food, naturally, but other than that people mostly just clumped together with their friends like they did every other day and chatted or squeezed onto the crowded dance floor where they proceeded to sway together like some amebic creature. He'd always thought dancing was supposed to be an art, but he couldn't see it here.

Then again, just looking at all those people packed together into one space was enough to make him feel mildly ill.

On top of that the music was too loud and he was beginning to get a headache.

At least the decorations were interesting to look at.

"You don't look like you're having much fun."

Shinichi looked up from the cup of what tasted like colored sugar water he'd been slogging through to find Kaito giving him a worried look that made him feel guilty.

"I'm just not sure what I'm supposed to be doing," he said in answer to the question he could see in the magician's eyes.

Kaito, who had just returned from a circuit around the assembly room after happily munching his way through a third of the chocolate cake, cast a glance from his companion to the dance floor and back. "I'm guessing you wouldn't want to join them."

Shinichi shuddered. "Not particularly, no."

"Well, they've set up some games in the corner over there under the stuffed dragon on the wall. Would you like to go play?"

Shinichi turned to look towards said stuffed dragon. It was large and purple and had been mounted on the wall right beside the huge, black speakers. "I would, but I think I might go deaf."

"It is a bit loud," Kaito agreed with a rueful smile. He watched Shinichi wrinkle his nose as he took another sip of his punch before reaching over and taking the cup from him. "Here, I'll finish that."

"You don't have to."

"I don't mind. And you make drinking it look like torture."

The oracle huffed a little but didn't argue. "They told me it was fruit juice," he grumbled by way of explanation. "But I can't taste any fruit in it at all. And it's too sweet."

The magician chuckled, tossing the now empty cup into the trash can and grabbing Shinichi's hand to pull him onto his feet. "Come on."

Shinichi blinked in confusion. "Where are we going?"

"Outside."

"Outside?"

"Yep."

"Are we leaving?"

"Nope."

"But there's nothing outside."

"Exactly."

The lawn in front of the assembly room was ringed with bushes that had been adorned with colorful streamers and lights by the enthusiastic decoration committee. Originally part of the event was to be held outdoors, but the weather had turned out to be a little too cold for it. Shinichi only noticed the chill for a moment however before a puff of warm air slid around him like an invisible, weightless cloak.

Kaito led them out onto the lawn. As he walked, the lights strung through the bushes grew brighter, casting a rainbow glow over the grass. Shinichi frowned but decided not to say anything this time. It wasn't very likely anyone would notice a few overly bright lights after all.

Kaito let go of his hand once they had reached the center of the lawn and turned to face him. Holding his gaze, the magician took a step back and bowed, offering Shinichi his hand again as his smile grew.

Bemused, Shinichi took the proffered hand. "What are you up to?"

Kaito straightened, drawing him closer in the same motion. Catching Shinichi's other hand, he placed it on his shoulder before letting his own drop to the oracle's waist.

"Well, they did say this was a dance," he explained as he did so. "This being our first time at one and all, it wouldn't be right if we didn't dance at least once, now would it?"

"And when did you learn how to dance?" Shinichi asked, confused.

"I looked it up after school yesterday when you were researching new recipes at the library."

"Oh, so that's what you were doing. I thought you just wanted to get away from all the cookbooks."

Kaito snorted, then tugged on their clasped hands. "The music's not quite right, but the beat will do. Just follow my lead."

"Are you sure you know what you're doing?" Shinichi couldn't help but ask, absently leaning closer to the magician as Kaito began to move.

"Pretty sure, and we can figure out the rest along the way."

X

Ran had been wondering where Kaito and Shinichi had disappeared to when she saw Sonoko sneaking out the assembly room door like a clumsy burglar in her emerald green dress. Confused and curious, she followed. She found the other girl crouched behind some bushes just outside the door.

"What—" she started only to be cut off as Sonoko abruptly grabbed the hem of her dress and pulled her down.

"Shh!" she hissed. "They'll hear you."

"Who?"

Sonoko pointed and Ran followed the gesture to see the transfer students on the lawn. They appeared to be talking. Then Kaito offered Shinichi his hand and pulled him into what was clearly a waltz. They fit together so naturally that it made Ran feel a bit uncomfortable for intruding, even unintentionally, on the moment.

"I knew it!" Sonoko squealed in triumph. "I told you they were together!"

"Keep your voice down," Ran hissed, shooting a worried glance towards the two in question. "I think we should go."

"Just another minute. I want to see if they kiss."

"Sonoko!" she scolded, scandalized and fighting the urge to blush. "They're probably out here because they don't want an audience."

"So?"

"…" Sometimes Ran really didn't know what to do with her friend.

"Why are you two spying on them?" Heiji's voice demanded suddenly, making both girls jump.

"I'm just curious," Sonoko declared, making no move to leave.

Ran shot the dark-skinned boy a pleading look. He nodded his understanding and they each took one of Sonoko's arms and dragged her back inside.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I will start posting the sequel in a few weeks once I've had time to reread it (I'm trying to reread everything before I re-post them here, so I will probably do some more one-shots first). If you're curious and want to read the immediate sequel now, you can find it here: [Title: Diamonds in the Rain (Complete)](https://www.fanfiction.net/s/9840352/1/Diamonds-in-the-Rain)


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